Ulkuthu is about the plight of fishermen

Karthick Raju, the graphic designer turned filmmaker of Thirudan Police fame, is all set with his next titled Ulkuthu, which is about the predicaments of fishermen from moneylenders, who charge exorbitant interest rates called kandhu vatti.  “I made the script even before the suicidal death of producer Ashok Kumar due to usury,” Karthick says. Dinesh and Nandita play the lead roles.

“I actually haven’t assisted anyone in the industry. After completing my graphic designing course, I worked in films like Padayappa, Mudhalvan, Endhiran, Anniyan, Dasavatharam among others and my job was  to go to the shoot  locations and teach the actors, who play double roles, some details of how to go about it. That way, I got passionate about filmmaking and did Thirudan Police,” Karthick tells us.

Giving out more details, he said, “There used to be a fish market next to my house. I was always curious to know more about the young boys, who came there to cut and clean the fish, taking just Rs 20 per fish. They would work only three days in a week. I used to wonder as to what they would do on the rest of the week and when probed  in, the result was startling. They said they were being exploited by antisocial elements and that’s when I wrote this script.” The film also talks about friendship. While Dinesh essays a boy, who works in the fish market, Nandita will be seen as a simple girl, who works in a local textile shop. Balasaravanan is also roped in for a crucial role. Justin Prabhakaran does the music.