Calling the shots

doweshowbellyad=0; A still from Herovaa Zerovaa.Can Kollywood's rare breed of women directors get due recognition in an industry considered a male bastion?
From behind the lens to before it, women are zooming in on Tamil cinema like never before. The latest in line is lady director Madhumita, whose Vallamai Thaaraayo is releasing shortly.
A new generation of young girls armed with mass communication degrees are flooding tinsel town to take up film direction.Top commercial directors like Shankar, Selvaraghavan, Gautham Menon and Dharani have female assistant directors working for them, trying to learn the ropes. Aiswarya Rajinikanth, Superstar's daughter is currently working in a Hyderabad studio assisting Selvaraghavan for his Aayirathil Oruvan. ���There is a lot of women power in all departments of filmmaking these days than ever before and it augers well for the industry,��� says Selvaraghavan.
Tamil cinema has seen many women directors try their luck at without really conquering the box-office. Many have tried to crack the code, but very few have made their mark in Tamil film industry and tasted big commercial success.
All top yesteryear heroines like Bhanumathi, Savithri, Vijaya Nirmala, Lakshmi, Jayadevi, Jayachitra, Sripriya, Suhasini, Revathy and cinematographer BR Vijayalakshmi have tried their hand at direction. It started with TP Rajalakshmi, the first woman director who made Miss Kamala (1936) in Tamil based on her own novel and later Madurai Veeran (1938). In an age of mythologies, she made women-centric films which were not received well. A leading Kollywood male director, who prefers anonymity, says, "The trouble with women directors is that they look more at women's issues from a different perspective vis-��-vis male directors who know how to pander to the box-office. In the process, they fall between two stools and the trade never encourages them because of the saleability factor."
However, in the last three years, a lot of committed women filmmakers from Tamil Nadu like Janaki Viswanathan (Kutty, Kanavu Meipada Vendum), Revathy Varma (June R), Sharada Ramanathan (Sringaram) have made an impact at the national level, which augers well for good cinema.
Things have changed with the advent of multiplexes and the all-round transformation in filmmaking. Today, a good middle-of-the road film has a potential from just multiplexes DVD, and television rights. A few bold women directors are making their foray to hitherto a male bastion with their meaningful films with commercial song and dance. Priya V with her Kanda Naal Mudhal and the recent Kannanmoochi Yaenada has been in the forefront of the change.
The most difficult thing for a Tamil commercial filmmaker is probably to create a 5-minute short film, as it involves bringing in all the 'navarasas' in about 300 seconds. Priya V pulled it off with her short film titled Herovaa Zerovaa starring Vijay, Surya, Madhavan and Jyothika. This short film has been made by Surya's Agaram Foundation for the Ministry of School Education to spread the message - "only the educated are heroes". The film, being screened in theatres, has been well received by the masses as it has played to each star's image and strength. Priya feels that it is the script and packaging that has made her films work with today's youth. "I believe that the entertainment factor is important for a film's commercial success," says Priya, who is working on two scripts currently.
Director Madhumitha is anxious about her Vallamai Tharayo, which is scheduled to be released soon. "I'm anxious as I'm looking for critical as well as commercial success for my film," she says. "I want to change the popular perspective that women make soft films. I am working on the script of an action-oriented romantic thriller next," she signs off.