An offhand idea gets Siva global acclaim

Little did Poo Sivaprakasam know that an idea which came to his mind offhand, would earn him accolades from several quarters. His 13-minute short film, Irumal Thaththaa (Coughing Grandpa), which has been screened at a film festival in Mumbai, and at an annual event to commemorate filmmaker Balu Mahendra in Chennai, is now all set for international attention. Shot on a budget of a little less than a lakh, the short film will be screened at the Singapore Tamil Short Film Festival, this September.

���The plight of a grandad who suffers from chronic cough, and who later succumbs to cancer, is the plot I developed based on my own grandad���s life,��� Siva says, and adds, ���My grandfather, too, met with a similar fate, and was quite similar to the character in this film. He was also independent, and never wanted to disturb others even when he was very ill. The title of this film is inspired from the character ���Irumal Thathaa��� in Balu sir���s yesteryear movie Ethir Neechal.���

Sivaprakasam, who earlier worked as a co-writer for the film Radiopetti, which won several awards, roped in Lakshmanan Rajagopal, who played a crucial role in it, to play the title role in his short film. Interestingly, Nivas Adithan, who plays the thathaa���s son in this project, too, was a part of Radiopetti. ���I was also associated with the television serial Amudha Oru Aacharyakuri directed by Balachander sir. He continues to be my biggest inspiration,��� says Sivaprakasam, justifying the tribute to his master, which has been mentioned in the beginning of the short film.

National award-winning editor TS Suresh and acclaimed sound designer Tapas Nayak were part of the project, which had S Venkatesh cranking the camera, with music by Vijay Karthigeyan. The crew completed shooting in three days in Neyveli and Virudhachalam. ���As soon as the idea struck me, I finished the basic outline
in 30 minutes. It was the small suspense element in the climax portion which I took much care of while writing,��� he says.

According to him, the established technicians who worked in the project refused to take high remuneration because of which the budget didn���t go overboard. Siva is now looking forward to a few international film festivals slated to be held later this year. He is now gearing up to add subtitles and instill DI, colour grading and sound effects so as to cater to a wider audience.