M.S. Anand, a filmmaker from Australia who has also won few awards for his shorts, tried his hand in making a commercial Tamil cinema and debuted with the movie Yazh, which is an ancient musical instrument. Yazh-Paanam in Sri Lanka acquired its name for the same root as it is where the Tamil art and culture flourished during those times.
Talking to DC, Anand says, “The film narrates in real time in a non-linear fashion three interwoven stories of six main characters who are torn apart by the looming Lankan war. The plight and struggle with the choices of these interconnected characters is told in back and forth style in real time in gripping parallel tracks. The story takes place entirely in Sri Lanka and the dialogues and song lyrics are written in Eelam Tamil for the first time in Tamil cinema. It is full-fledged commercial film with beautiful songs from Arunagiri of Goli Soda fame.” Vinoth Krishnan, Daniel Balaji, Sasikumar, Misha Ghoshal, Neelima Rani and Rakshana play the lead roles in Yazh.
Due to the non-availability of theatres for small films, Anand could release it only in a solitary screen a couple of months back. “It was well received then. So, I decided to re-release it now, thanks to the industry strike, I have got more number of screens in TN,” reveals the filmmaker.
