Remembering Fidel Castro, through film

The former president of Cuba and a popular icon of revolution, Fidel Castro passed away on Saturday. The island country has now declared several days of mourning nationwide. The leader, who has also been termed as a dictator by his critics, has nevertheless been an inspiration to millions across the world — and his revolutionary thoughts will be quoted by comrades for several years to come.
Even Kodambakkam has its share of Castro followers and director SP Jananathan is surely one of them.

The Peranmai director is one among the few filmmakers in Tamil who infuses ideas of communism in films. From Iyarkai to Purampokku Engira Podhuvudamai, the director has stressed the importance of communism in today’s world. Talking to DC, he says, “Even if you see my debut film Iyarkai, I have used a photograph of Fidel Castro. It was to set the character tone of Arun Vijay, who is a good and dedicated ship captain. Only with that picture, the heroine identifies the whereabouts of her lost love. In a film like that, I could only use Fidel in that way.”

Jananathan also says, “Since cinema is perceived as a mode of entertainment, 90 per cent of the filmmakers shun serious concepts like communism in the film.”
Similarly, Pa Ranjith, who is known for making films about political oppression and classism, took to Twitter to share a quote of Fidel Castro on the day of his death — “A missile that can kill ambition is yet to be found.”