CHENNAI:One must never underestimate the allure of cinema among the masses in the city. ‘Pure Cinema’ (https://www.purecinemabookshop.com) is the only stall in the Book Fair that’s completely dedicated towards selling books on filmmaking in Tamil.
Both stalls 385 and 386 have books on screenplay, shots, camera angles, colour grading, editing, etc., all thanks to Pesaamozhi Publications, based out of Valasaravakkam.
The stall welcomes its visitors with a quote of legendary filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock — ‘The Silent pictures were the purest form of cinema’.
Arun.Mo, founder, has been visiting the fair for the past 25 years and cannot stop gushing about his love for books. “Sales have spiked now. Compared to days when e-books were not available, there are customers who buy books after reading it as PDF, listening to it as an audiobook, or a podcast in Spotify or other platforms. So, technology encourages readers to buy more books,” he told Dt Next.
The stalls have handwritten scripts of screenplay books and some even have storyboards and sketches in them. “Screenplay books such as Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Leo, Vikram, Maanagaram, Mysskkin’s Onaayum Aattukkuttiyum, Vetrimaaran’s Viduthalai, etc., are some of the best-selling screenplay books, this year,” he smiled.
It’s noteworthy that director Su Arunkumar of Chithha fame had visited the stall few days ago and the screenplay book of Chithha is one of the best-sellers. “Generally, books on screenplay help one to observe the contemporary writing style. By breaking down the script, we can understand how every scene was written with a purpose, thereby giving a glimpse into the mindset and approach of filmmakers,” pointed out Venki, an assistant director.
Tamizharasan, a student and volunteer at the stall, said some of the revenue generated through these stalls was used for conducting workshops for students. “Some leading filmmakers take this workshop. Until last year, the money was also used to serve low-cost food for struggling filmmakers. Director Lokesh Kanagaraj was a huge supporter of this initiative,” he added.