At an event to announce the finalists of the Radaan Short Film Festival, Rayane, the brain behind it along with her mother Raadhika Sarathkumar and actor/politician Sarathkumar, spoke to DC on a range of subjects including her new endeavour and her wedding preparations, in an exclusive.
“We started off the film festival with 200 entries, then progressively shortlisted them to 25, then 10, and down to the top six finalists, including international entries. The finalists were chosen by jury members including Balaji Mohan, Karthik Subbaraj, Santhosh Narayanan, Ratnavelu and Antony,” Rayane says.
Mom’s first reaction: I have known Balaji Mohan from the time he got into Naalaya Iyakkunar series with his short films, and today he is a well-known filmmaker. My mom knew that I wanted to branch out, and do something new. She always says ‘content is king’, and is very supportive of my endeavour.
No inclination towards acting: I never had the inclination, and still don’t like to be in front of the camera. I like to be behind the scenes, and love production.
My fiance is my creative partner: Mithun is very encouraging and supportive, I would say he is my creative partner.
On wedding preparations: The wedding will be held during the last week of August in Chennai. Amma and I will design the wedding outfit, and I may choose a Mumbai designer for the sangeeth and mehendi functions.
Things I have learnt from my mother: I’ve never let anyone say ‘no’ to me. I never look at someone and impersonate them.
Mom is the role model: My mother has always been the single biggest role model in my life. She advises me to be prepared to face failures. My biggest fear is my mother not being there! 10 years from now: After 10 years, I want to be making a mark on YouTube and events. I want to remake Amma’s Nallavanukku Nallavan — she was fun in that role and I don’t think anyone can do it like she did.
