A QnA With Siddharth; Notes On Animal

Siddharth & SU Arun Kumar On Making Chithha, One Of 2023's Best Films

Chithha, widely hailed as one of the best Tamil films of 2023, is an intimate family drama/thriller that speaks sensitively about an issue oft sensationalised, writes Subha J Rao.

CHITHHA, directed by SU Arun Kumar and starring Siddharth, Nimisha Sajayan and Sahasra Shree, is that rare film which speaks about a sensitive topic with the sensibility it deserves, and with a touch rooted in realism. It speaks about human bonds, some that fray before strengthening again, and that fragile yet important topic called a child’s safety. More importantly, it firmly trains the lens on the child and the child’s universe, and on why it is important to learn to move ahead and not restrict a person’s life to an incident. That tender gaze is something we have missed in cinema.

Predictably, the film has been received well by critics and the audience, across languages. The film dropped on Disney+ Hotstar on November 28.The performances, which are lived-in, have also won much appreciation. For Siddharth, who has been pigeonholed somewhat because of his looks, this film is a great opportunity to show what he really is capable of. In an interview, Arun and Siddharth, who also produced the film, speak about the making process and choosing the gaze.

Siddharth, everyone who’s watched the movie has a scene they were most moved by. What was yours while performing?

Siddharth: Ah, that would be the breakdown scene in the bathroom. It was very draining. I’d gone through a personal bereavement earlier that day and was told about it just as I entered the set. Without deviating from the strength of the writing and the context, when I finished the scene, I was overwhelmed and Arun held me.

Arun, Chithha’s sensitive treatment shines through. Did you involve stakeholders in the scripting?

Arun: Yes, I did. This was a film where I was speaking about something far away from what I usually write about, and so I did a lot of research and got inputs from various people. The script was shown to quite a few stakeholders so that we don’t get anything wrong or hurt anyone.

I met a lot of survivors and it is through those conversations that I realised the child calls the perpetrator ‘uncle’ or ‘mama’ or ‘anna’, even after an assault. I went through the UNICEF guidelines, and read up so we never mis-represent.

Some of the things I heard shook me. That scene where the child hits the uncle. That is from a real-life story where the child could not even bear to see her father…The climax was written after speaking to some children who were abused. The idea was to tell them that there is someone who will be there for them.

There's Just One Main Character In Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Films: His Provocative Directorial Voice

Be it Kabir Singh, Arjun Reddy or his latest, Animal, ultimately Vanga is the self-proclaimed hero of all his films and he announces it not-so-subtly, writes Swetha Ramakrishnan.

SANDEEP REDDY VANGA’s Animal is a lot of things. It’s a loud, sometimes stylish, sometimes messy and faux-masculine story of abandonment issues. It’s feminist rage-bait, as this piece from The Swaddle rightfully points out. It’s small dick energy, as this review in OTTPlay points out. It’s a complex (sometimes disjointed) portrayal of the inner animalistic instinct of a tormented modern man. It is an ambitious and violent metaphor of how the patriarchy impacts men. It’s a love letter to a destructive and dangerous idea of an “alpha male” that Vanga is clearly infatuated with. It is a beautifully vulnerable and judgement-free performance by Ranbir Kapoor, and I can’t ever say career-best because I walk out of every Ranbir Kapoor performance feeling that way. Here’s what it is not: a good film.

And it has that in common with his previous two films, Arjun Reddy/Kabir Singh. His provocative directorial voice is the main character in all his films, leaving no room for logic and nuance in character arcs and narrative flow. There are no engaging scenes that give you goosebumps. There aren’t moments that pause your train of thought and make you want to jump into the world that is being built. There are noisy statements being made, and audiences are either expected to clap along or get offended. Are his films political (I'm being generous by using “political” here when the statement/messaging often toes the line of misogyny) and cinematic? Yes. But they aren’t able to rise above his voice.

In Animal, Vanga prioritises swag and aggression, and is desperate to Make. A. Point. Along the way, he compromises on depth in his storytelling. He wears his problematic stances on his sleeve like a badge and all criticism coming his way are like those bullets in the famous Matrix scene, that he has to out-manoeuvre. Ultimately Vanga is the self-proclaimed hero of all his films and he announces it not-so-subtly.

Anand Ekarshi On Making His Malayalam Feature Debut With The Acclaimed Aattam

Aattam: The Play is an incisive exploration of the human psyche in the form of a chamber drama, writes Aditya Shrikrishna.

ANAND EKARSHI’s Malayalam feature debut Aattam: The Play had its world premiere at 21st Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles where it won the Grand Jury Award for Best Film. An incisive exploration of the human psyche in the form of a chamber drama, the film had its Asia premiere at Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2023, was the opening film of Indian Panorama at the 54th International Film Festival of India, and an official selection in the International Film Festival of Kerala in the ‘Malayalam Cinema’ section. The film, based on amateur theatre artistes and their troupe, features an ensemble cast including Vinay Forrt, Zarin Shihab and a host of fresh faces from Malayalam theatre, blurring the line between reality and fiction. Anand Ekarshi spoke to OTTplay about the film.

Was Aattam a planned feature debut or did it accidentally turn into one?

It accidentally became my debut film. All the actors you see in the movie are my friends; we have been friends for 15 years and are part of a theatre group. During the pandemic, we were on a day trip and Vinay Forrt who was part of the group came up with the idea that he wanted to do something for his friends. All are great theatre actors but never got a break in films. He said if I write something and direct, he could help in any way that he can. So, this story was really built for and around the cast. So much so that I didn’t even change their names. The actors play characters named after them.

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