In an attempt to document the ground reality of the series of farmers’ suicides that has happened in Tamil Nadu due to drought, a journalist-turned-filmmaker Rajiv Gandhi has made a docudrama, titled Kolai Vilayum Nilam, by visiting the villages and the families of the departed. The film has got good support from the leading celebs of Tamil cinema. GV Prakash has composed music for a song in the film, which has been penned by director Raju Murugan. Filmmaker-actor Samuthirakani have given the voiceover for the film. In a chat with us, Rajiv Gandhi shares more about the documentary.
“Months ago, state government, after a lot pressure from supreme court, sent a report claiming that suicides cases in Tamil Nadu were not because of drought, but due to personal problems of the individuals. But the reality is different. I wanted to document the real struggle and that’s when I decided to do this documentary with my friends.”
His friends and acquaintances have helped him to produce the film, and no one, including the stars, sought any remuneration to work in KVN — “Raju Murugan has been my friend and he readily wrote the lyrics for a song, and since GV Prakash has been voicing his support for farmers’ issue, we thought he will be apt for the music. However, we were skeptical if he would agree since he is busy. But he immediately agreed to compose the music.”
“Same goes to Samuthirakani sir. There is a lot of criticism of the government in the film, and I thought he would hesitate to give his voice. But he didn’t even make a single change and praised me for the work,” he adds.
The film will next be screened for many leading directors of the Tamil cinema, and Rajiv will eventually release it on YouTube and send it for festivals.
