Cinema is all about the way it’s told, isn’t it? Even with constant exposure to world cinema and increased knowledge about films, not many really know the technicalities behind a movie and its screenplay. The magic lies in the narration — but our audiences are so used a certain type of storytelling that only a handful of films with a different narration type work at the box-office. Kollywood hasn’t been afraid to break away from the norm though, with a handful of brave fillmakers daring enough to test themselves — and those who are watching.
Film: Maanagaram
Narrative technique: Hyperlink
Director Lokesh Kanagaraj thought of using a hyperlink narration while scripting the film itself — wherein characters reside in seperate stories and a connection is established between them towards the climax. “Aayutha Ezhuthu and Aaranya Kaandam are my inspirations. Since Maanagaram is a story of four characters, I thought of using the hyperlink narration technique. The biggest challenge for the audience is that not to get confused on who to follow on screen. I read several blogs written by directors like Guy Ritchie to understand the technique. When I pitched the story to my producer SR Prabhu, I didn’t give him a bound script. Since the screenplay was complex, I made it a point to narrate it. Except for Sundeep and Sree, other members of my team did not know the full script. I had a gut feeling that it might confuse the artistes,” he recalls about his hit venture.
Film: Maya
Narrative technique: Story within a story
Ashwin Saravanan’s biggest challenge was to differentiate the two stories in his debut film Maya. This film showcases a story within a story — which means the character within the film narrates a tale. He explains, “People should be able to understand the two stories; at the same time, it shouldn’t be a giveaway. That is why we decided to differentiate the two stories using colour schemes. It was difficult to convince the entire team! Since a part of the film is in black-and-white, we need to concentrate more on costumes and art direction. We also had the backup idea of not using black-and-white, but it would have turned out to be confusing. I will admit I was constantly second guessing myself. I grew up learning Sujatha sir’s work and the loop narrative he uses in his stories got me hooked and I thought I should try it in my film as well. Audiences are exposed to world cinema and should be able to figure out what’s happening on screen. By bringing in new techniques, we can shake things a bit in the industry, otherwise, it gets mundane.”
Film: Aaranya Kandam
Narrative technique: Neo-noir
Thiagarajan Kumararaja’s Aaranya Kandam broke the odds of cliched film stories and brought in the neo-noir pattern to Tamil cinema. Neo-noir describes crime dramas where the protagonists have cynical attitudes and sexual motivation. Even though the film didn’t fare well at the box-office, it is regarded as a cult-classic. “My film was a flop,” Thiagarajan says, adding, “It was a huge risk that I took at the beginning of my career. Even if you come up with a conventional script, directors face several issues in convincing people to get on board. When you plan to tell something new in your film, people would turn down the offer saying it’s new. It is upto the directors to take risks in telling a story and if they want to experiment, they should work with the right kind of people.
Film: Kathai Thiraikathai Vasanam Iyakkam
Narrative technique: Meta film
Parthiepan has a penchant for churning out films that are experimental in nature, and in Thiraikathai Vasanam Iyakkam, he really pushed the limitations by using the meta-film style — in which the characters in the film go about making a film! Boasting a lively cast, the movie was a cult hit with aspiring filmmakers. Speaking about his off-beat project, Kathai... the director explains, “In this film, I had deliberately kept a scene, where the director (played by Santhosh Pratap) would come into the shot and change the scene. I was the first-ever director to do it — Hollywood film Sin City 2 has something similar. During the story discussion stage, my idea of doing a meta film was criticised. I have done several experimental films in my career — while a few have worked, some have failed miserably.” He adds, “KTVI was screened across 25 producers, but they neither liked it nor understood the concept. This compelled me to distribute it on my own. Pitching a different idea to our cinematographer and editor can be tricky. Your technicians should agree with your idea, only then the product would turn out well.”
Film: Indru Netru Naalai
Narrative technique: Predestination paradox/ casual loop
Director Ravikumar of Indru Netru Naalai, claims that debutant filmmakers have a mammoth task of convincing a producer, when they have a new idea. He used a technique called predestination paradox — that saw the characters traverse back and forth through several time periods. “Fortunately, my producer approved the idea of experimenting a new technique. As soon as I finished my script, I gave it to my friends to check if they could understand it. People are now bored of straight/ direct narration. Since we have all types of audience, we tend to comprise. In order to appeal to all centers of the audience, many elements are told in a simple manner. In Hollywood, people include technical elements and it succeeds as well. The audience’s mindset can be changed slowly. One takeaway is that the story and the narrative technique should go hand in hand,” he asserts.
