‘I hope my children accept me after watching the film’

Naga Vishal who was pitted against the likes of Ranveer Singh, Vicky Kaushal and Ayushmaan Khurrana, won the best actor award at a film festival in Mumbai recently. The film deals with the age-old tradition of Thalaikoothal, a form of senicide or an involuntary euthanasia that is practised around the villages of Madurai. “I knew about Thalaikoothal only after I came across a newspaper clipping. I did my research and penned a script around it. Being a filmmaker, I cannot take a biased stance their especially on a sensitive topic like this. Hence, I have shown both pros and cons of the tradition and I have left it for the audience to decide. One thing I would like to clarify is that the film isn’t a stereotypical festival favourite flick that could be a slow watch. KD aka Karuppu Durai is a mainstream film and in fact a reason to be rejected by the jury in a film festival,” explains Madhumita.

However, Mu Ramasamy’s revelation moved everyone seated in the room. “I look at the story value before I accept a film. To be honest, I had a selfish reason to do this film. According to the story, I play an old man who runs away from his children who are planning the Thalaikoothal for him. When I heard the narration, to my surprise the story dealt with what I am going through in my real life,” he says with a smile. He adds that the real-life situation helped him get into the skin of his character of Karuppu Dhurai. “The story has a message on how sons and daughters should look after their parents in their later stages of life. I hope that my children watch this film and get the message,” he reveals.

It is Naga Vishal, all of 11, who brings the situation back to normalcy as he starts introducing himself to us. “I’m from Madurai and making my debut with this film. My mom has told me that she will let me act in future. I have asked my best friends to go and watch the first show of KD on Friday. Moreover, it was great to have acted with Ramasamy Thatha,” he says and gives the theatre veteran a piece of chocolate as they both smile at each other.