Ilami is a period flick,that will glorify Jallikattu — the valorous sport of Tamilians — along with a bit of romance thrown in. I am extremely confident that it will be an eye-opener and help lift the ban on jallikattu,” claims director Julien Prakash, a former assistant to SJ Suryah and Ravi Maria.
The film has Yuvan of Saattai fame and Anu Krishna who played Vijay’s sister in Kaththi as the lead pair. Speaking to DC, the director, who is also the producer of the film, said, “I hail from Madurai which is famous for jallikattu and have grown up watching the sport. My film, Ilami, is about the form — vadam jallikattu — which was practiced 300 years back, when the bull tamers fought the bulls face-to-face. The ones that are happening now are called manju virattu, where they chase the bulls and try to tame them.”
When asked if he got permission to shoot with real bulls/oxen, Julien says, “We could not use bulls or oxen in the film. So we took prior permission from the collector and Animal Welfare Board to shoot a bullfight, which took place in Sakkudi (near Madurai) with 800 bulls. The footage from the fight has been used in the film extensively. My film projects the life of people who lived in the period when jallikattu was their main priority.”
