Kollywood
has seen several films that have dealt with education and school life. But Gowtham Raj says his
Raatchasi
, starring
Jyotika in the lead, will be different from the ones that audiences have seen. “We all talk about revolutionising the education system, but how many of us take the first steps towards that goal? This story is about one such government school
teacher
,” he begins.
The debutant director admits that he has been inspired by several activists. “People like Mahalakshmi have been actively involved in promoting government schools,” he says, “School life is an integral part of an individual; there’s a certain innocence in our life then. We might have come across several teachers, but few of them leave a lasting impact. We always have that one teacher who becomes our role model, our heroine. The film will explore all these aspects.”
Ask him how he got Jyotika onboard, and Gowtham says, “I actually met her manager first because I knew only she could pull off this role. There’s something very positive about her persona. I narrated the story to him in 30 minutes. He told me he’ll discuss with Jyotika and revert in a few days, but he called me up even before I had reached home. I met her later and gave her a presentation for about two-and-a-half hours. She liked the role, and we also got Suriya’s opinion on it.”
Talking about the prep, he says, “Jyotika called up Sivakumar sir’s relatives in places like Udumalaipettai and Pollachi to understand about government school teachers there. She was also keen on getting the costume and makeup right because her look has to uphold the respect that a teacher commands. We researched on the teachers who have made a difference in areas like Thiruvallur, Namakkal and Velur for reference.”
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