Majid, who started as a filmmaker with Thalapathy Vijay’s Tamizhan, is back with a movie titled Torch Light, which has a powerful subject. The film talks about how young girls are pushed to flesh trade by middlemen by exploiting their poor background. This film particularly narrates the story of sex workers on the highways and their encounter with the truck drivers.
Talking to DC, Majid said, “When I did Tamizhan which stressed the need for knowing our laws, it was widely appreciated and was a blockbuster. After that, I directed few small films and was waiting for a correct script to make a comeback. When I got the story idea for Torch Light, I felt this was my dream film I was waiting for. It is a film which would definitely create awareness among the masses and exposes how poor girls are sexually exploited and are being used as a ‘commodity’.”
On roping in Sada he said, “I narrated the script to 40 heroines, but most of them refused to essay the role of a sexworker and finally I met Sada and explained why the story has to be told. She literally wept during the narration and immediately gave her nod since the film carried a huge message. I did my extensive research with real-life sex workers and recorded as how they ended up in the flesh trade. She also watched these video footages and was very upset. I am confident that this film would be a turning point in her career.”
On the challenges involved while filming, he said, “The story is set in 90s; most of my shooting takes place on the highways. Those days, most of the highways were two-way traffic zones which have now become four-way lanes. We had tough time locating two-way lanes which were without cable or cell phone towers.”
Riythvika of Madras fame will be seen as a prostitute in the film. “Riythvika also could not control her tears when she heard the story,” Majid reveals. The film was shot in Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Kovilpatti, Kuttralam and Chennai.
