Tamil cinema has of late been seeing strong content-driven films that portray the lives of the people in different rural localities. Joining the list is Thorati, set in the ’80s, which delves into the lives of shepherds. Director Marimuthu has taken a leaf out of his real life experiences.
While Shaman Mithru, who doubles up as the producer, debuts as the hero in the character of Mayan, Sathyakala plays the heroine as Semponnu. Azhagu, Sundaraj and Muthuraman are in the supporting cast. The entire team was given six months training before embarking on the shooting, reveals the film maker.
About the film he says, “How the shepherd community walks miles in search of pasture for their sheep and goats, how they protect them in pattis (sheds) at nights and how the animals’ excreta is used as manure, etc.
‘Thorati’ is the long stick with a hook attached to its end which is used to pluck leaves from high tree trunks for feeding their herd. They are also used as protective weapons from wild animals during the night. And one may call the ‘Thorati’ as the sixth finger of a shepherd.”
Ved Shankar’s songs and Snehan’s soulful lyrics are the biggest plus to the movie, says the film maker. The film has made it to several international film festivals and has been critically acclaimed. As a producer, Shaman also shared the innumerable problems he had to undergo for the theatrical release of Thorati in Tamil Nadu.
