A week ago, writer Jeyamohan, who was supposed to collaborate with Mani Ratnam for the adaptation of Kalki’s Ponniyin Selvan, revealed the real reason behind shelving the epic saga, which would have had a jaw-dropping star cast comprising Vijay, Anushka Shetty, Mahesh Babu, and Vishal in the lead roles. He stated that the lack of permission to shoot inside the temples of Tamil Nadu made the film non-viable since raising sets for the entire film would have cost about Rs 200 crore.
When contacted, he tells us — “If this state of affairs continues, 50 years down the line, there won’t be any temples in our films. And we will end up depriving our younger generations of knowledge about our culture and architecture. Somehow, cinema has become the primary mass medium for us — and to exclude a big part of culture from such an art form will have adverse effects.”
Tanjore temple
He further adds, “The deposit amount to shoot inside a temple can be set at a higher rate, or the whole shooting process can be supervised — that cost can be compensated, instead of preventing the shooting altogether.”
Not only temples, even shooting inside the city has become a big hurdle for filmmakers, and they have started seeking other parts of Tamil Nadu even if the film is set in the capital city. The writer says, “If this scenario continues, in future, our streets and parts of Tamil Nadu will find no place in our films.”
Martin Rex, a production controller who has worked in films including Irudhi Suttru, says, “The main reason is the cost. It costs an exorbitant amount to shoot in the city. Even if one gets the permission, traffic clearance is another problem. But in the end, you can only get half a day. And, even a road shoot is impossible in half a day.”
Thus, filmmakers go to places like Madurai and Theni and contrive to raise sets that have the appearance of Chennai. This is reportedly more economical than shooting in the state capital. However, Rex opines that for a low budget film even that is not an option.
Things have gotten worse in the last few years. Back then, filmmakers sometimes shot without any permission. Now, rules have become very stringent. However, small budget films suffer if they can’t afford it, and end up making changes in the script,” he concludes.
Filmmakers also resort to techniques like ‘day for night’ or ‘night for day’, wherein the shots are taken in day or night and changed as per requirement, using VFX.
However, Bhavaneeswari, IPS, Joint Traffic Commissioner South, says,
“Permissions are given each and every day. Of course, for certain stretches we deny permission due to traffic issues. Also, daytime shoots are not easy but we have never refused to allow night schedules. About the economic issues, we can’t comment on that. We don’t take care of it.”
Director Mysskin, who shot his last film Pisasu in the city’s outskirts, in areas such Taramani, has a different take on the whole issue, “Yes, over the past three years, it has been hard to shoot in the city and in temples. There are many reasons to it. But it has never stopped us from moving on. We also have to think about the traffic and population. So, it’s better to adapt and shoot elsewhere.”
