Ram (director)
Encyclopedia
Ram is a Indian film director, who works in Tamil cinema. After assisting Hindi directors Rajkumar Santoshi
and Govind Nihalani
and working under Balu Mahendra
, he made his directorial debut with Kattradhu Thamizh (2007), which fetched him strong critical acclaim. Due to the film's poor box office performance, he failed to start his next project, struggling for over three years, before being able to launch his second film Thanga Meengal
with the help of director-producer Gautham Menon
, which is currently in production.
in Tamil literature
at the Madras Christian College
, began writing short stories
in Tamil language. He met director Thangar Bachan and worked with him in a few films, who recommended that he meet Hindi film director Rajkumar Santoshi
. Since he could not understand Hindi
and was unaware about Hindi films
and hence did not know who Rajkumar Santoshi was, he was initially reluctant, but eventually decided to meet him and joined him as a script writer, moving to Mumbai
subsequently. Ram worked together with Santoshi in several Hindi films, including Pukar
(2000) and Lajja
(2001), and claimed that the latter was even based on his short story. Besides Santoshi, Ram had also assisted Govind Nihalani
, another Hindi film director, crediting the two for helping him becoming a filmmaker. Ram revealed that he first had planned to make a "cross-over English film on man-woman relationship" and approached Balu Mahendra
to handle the cinematography, since he felt Mahendra's style suited his script best. The project failed to take off, but Ram continued working with Mahendra. Though he did not assist him in any of his films, Ram considers Balu Mahendra as his teacher, who, he says, "converted" him "from being a film maniac to a film student" as he also learned about cinematic techniques
from him, particularly about cinematography
.
By mid-2006, Ram began working on his directorial debut, initially being titled as Tamil M.A., which was later changed to Kattradhu Thamizh to get exempted from the entertainment taxation. Ram told that the film would revolve around a young man, who gets into trouble because of his education, quoting that it would show the "pathetic state of our mother tongue [Tamil] in today's society". He selected Jeeva to essay the lead character in his film, after he had seen Raam
(2005) and been impressed by the actor's performance, while a newcomer Anupama from Mumbai was tipped to play the lead female character of Anandhi first, however she was later replaced by Anjali
, who debuted in Tamil cinema with this film. The film was shot for nearly a year across Maharashtra
, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala
and Chennai
, and gained high anticipation in its finishing stage, mainly due to Jeeva's looks in the promotional stills, and Ram's controversional statements at the film's soundtrack release, who cited that he had killed everyone who had hurt him during earlier days through the screenplay of the film. Kattradhu Thamizh followed the journey of a lower middle class post-graduate degree holder in Tamil literature
, who struggles to find a job and gradually turns a psychopath, frustrated by the inequality
in the social stratification
. Following its release in October 2007, the film received high critical praise, becoming termed as a "cult classic". Behindwoods in its review called the film a "kurinji flower in Indian cinema", citing that "once in a while a movie re-writes Tamil cinema history" and that Kattradhu Thamizh was "one such precious gem", further adding that Ram deserved a "standing ovation for not bowing down to commercial format and sticking to his theme with strong conviction". Ram denied that the film was his autobiography, clarifying that, unlike the protagonist in the film, he went on to work as a media consultant
and that the film was an autobiography of a fictional character named Prabhakar.
Shortly after the film's release, Ram was expected to commence his second project, which was tentatively titled Saddam Hussain and was to feature Dhanush
and Bhavana in the lead roles. However, the commercial failure of Kattradhu Thamizh hindered him from starting his next directorial immediately after, with no producer willing to fund the project. Furthermore, comedian Karunas
, who played a pivotal role in that film and had bought the distribution rights of the film, lost around 75 lakhs and demanded compensation for the loss. The project was shelved and Ram took a sabbatical, beginning to pen a new story titled Thanga Meengal
instead. By mid-2009, Touch Stone agreed to produce the film, with Karunas being signed to play the lead role, however the studio opted out the following year after facing financial troubles. Director-producer Gautham Menon
eventually accepted to produce it, asking Ram to enact the protagonist's role, which he agreed to after shooting rehearsal scenes with Suba Pandian and cinematographer P. G. Muthiah and being "thoroughly convinced". Thanga Meengal was disclosed to illustrate the story of a middle-aged man who gets separated from his wife and daughter to search for a job "just for the sake of earning money".
Rajkumar Santoshi
Rajkumar Santoshi is a Filmfare award-winning Indian film director and producer of Hindi films. He is the son of producer-director P.L. Santoshi.-Career:...
and Govind Nihalani
Govind Nihalani
Govind Nihalani is an Indian director, cinematographer, and also a screenwriter and film producer. He has been directing Hindi films since the late seventies, and worked in the television medium.- Biography :...
and working under Balu Mahendra
Balu Mahendra
Balanathan "Balu" Mahendran is an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter, and cinematographer widely regarded as part of the first in a wave of directors and screenwriters from the Chennai film industry who revitalised Tamil cinema...
, he made his directorial debut with Kattradhu Thamizh (2007), which fetched him strong critical acclaim. Due to the film's poor box office performance, he failed to start his next project, struggling for over three years, before being able to launch his second film Thanga Meengal
Thanga Meengal
Thanga Meengal is an Indian drama film written and directed by Ram, directing his second film after his highly acclaimed Kattradhu Thamizh. Ram, besides, plays the lead role as well alongside several newcomers. A joint production of Gautham Menon's Photon Kathaas and R. S. Infotainment, the film...
with the help of director-producer Gautham Menon
Gautham Menon
Gautham Vasudev Menon is an Indian film director and producer. Mainly working in Tamil cinema, he has also directed Hindi and Telugu films which are remakes of his Tamil films...
, which is currently in production.
Career
Ram, while he was pursuing a Master of Arts postgraduate degreeMaster of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in Tamil literature
Tamil literature
Tamil literature refers to the literature in the Tamil language. Tamil literature has a rich and long literary tradition spanning more than two thousand years. The oldest extant works show signs of maturity indicating an even longer period of evolution...
at the Madras Christian College
Madras Christian College
The Madras Christian College, commonly known as MCC, is a liberal arts and sciences college in Madras , India. Founded in 1837, MCC is one of Asia's oldest extant colleges. Currently, the college is affiliated to the University of Madras, but functions as an autonomous institution from its campus...
, began writing short stories
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
in Tamil language. He met director Thangar Bachan and worked with him in a few films, who recommended that he meet Hindi film director Rajkumar Santoshi
Rajkumar Santoshi
Rajkumar Santoshi is a Filmfare award-winning Indian film director and producer of Hindi films. He is the son of producer-director P.L. Santoshi.-Career:...
. Since he could not understand Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
and was unaware about Hindi films
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
and hence did not know who Rajkumar Santoshi was, he was initially reluctant, but eventually decided to meet him and joined him as a script writer, moving to Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
subsequently. Ram worked together with Santoshi in several Hindi films, including Pukar
Pukar (2000 film)
Pukar is a Hindi film directed by Rajkumar Santoshi and starring Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Namrata Shirodkar, Danny Denzongpa and Om Puri. The film was critically acclaimed and a moderate success at the box office...
(2000) and Lajja
Lajja (film)
Lajja is a 2001 Hindi film directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. The film is based on the plight of women in India. The movie recounts the story of four women, and stars some of the best known names in Hindi cinema, including Rekha, Madhuri Dixit, Manisha Koirala, Mahima Chaudhry, Jackie Shroff, Anil...
(2001), and claimed that the latter was even based on his short story. Besides Santoshi, Ram had also assisted Govind Nihalani
Govind Nihalani
Govind Nihalani is an Indian director, cinematographer, and also a screenwriter and film producer. He has been directing Hindi films since the late seventies, and worked in the television medium.- Biography :...
, another Hindi film director, crediting the two for helping him becoming a filmmaker. Ram revealed that he first had planned to make a "cross-over English film on man-woman relationship" and approached Balu Mahendra
Balu Mahendra
Balanathan "Balu" Mahendran is an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter, and cinematographer widely regarded as part of the first in a wave of directors and screenwriters from the Chennai film industry who revitalised Tamil cinema...
to handle the cinematography, since he felt Mahendra's style suited his script best. The project failed to take off, but Ram continued working with Mahendra. Though he did not assist him in any of his films, Ram considers Balu Mahendra as his teacher, who, he says, "converted" him "from being a film maniac to a film student" as he also learned about cinematic techniques
Cinematic techniques
- Basic Definitions of Terms :Aerial Shot:A shot taken from a crane, plane, or helicopter. Not necessarily a moving shot.Backlighting:The main source of light is behind the subject, silhouetting it, and directed toward the camera....
from him, particularly about cinematography
Cinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
.
By mid-2006, Ram began working on his directorial debut, initially being titled as Tamil M.A., which was later changed to Kattradhu Thamizh to get exempted from the entertainment taxation. Ram told that the film would revolve around a young man, who gets into trouble because of his education, quoting that it would show the "pathetic state of our mother tongue [Tamil] in today's society". He selected Jeeva to essay the lead character in his film, after he had seen Raam
Raam (film)
The music was scored by Yuvan Shankar Raja, joining with director Ameer Sultan. The soundtrack, released on 12 January 2005, features 7 tracks, including one instrumental. The lyrics were written by Snehan...
(2005) and been impressed by the actor's performance, while a newcomer Anupama from Mumbai was tipped to play the lead female character of Anandhi first, however she was later replaced by Anjali
Anjali (actress)
Anjali is an Indian film actress and model, who predominantly appears in Tamil films. Following a stint in modelling, she was cast in starring roles in two low-profile Telugu productions, before gaining attention with her critically acclaimed performance as Anandhi in Kattradhu Thamizh , for which...
, who debuted in Tamil cinema with this film. The film was shot for nearly a year across Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
and Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, and gained high anticipation in its finishing stage, mainly due to Jeeva's looks in the promotional stills, and Ram's controversional statements at the film's soundtrack release, who cited that he had killed everyone who had hurt him during earlier days through the screenplay of the film. Kattradhu Thamizh followed the journey of a lower middle class post-graduate degree holder in Tamil literature
Tamil literature
Tamil literature refers to the literature in the Tamil language. Tamil literature has a rich and long literary tradition spanning more than two thousand years. The oldest extant works show signs of maturity indicating an even longer period of evolution...
, who struggles to find a job and gradually turns a psychopath, frustrated by the inequality
Social inequality
Social inequality refers to a situation in which individual groups in a society do not have equal social status. Areas of potential social inequality include voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, the extent of property rights and access to education, health care, quality housing and other...
in the social stratification
Social stratification
In sociology the social stratification is a concept of class, involving the "classification of persons into groups based on shared socio-economic conditions ... a relational set of inequalities with economic, social, political and ideological dimensions."...
. Following its release in October 2007, the film received high critical praise, becoming termed as a "cult classic". Behindwoods in its review called the film a "kurinji flower in Indian cinema", citing that "once in a while a movie re-writes Tamil cinema history" and that Kattradhu Thamizh was "one such precious gem", further adding that Ram deserved a "standing ovation for not bowing down to commercial format and sticking to his theme with strong conviction". Ram denied that the film was his autobiography, clarifying that, unlike the protagonist in the film, he went on to work as a media consultant
Media consultant
A Media Consultant is a term used to describe a marketing agent or public relations executive, hired by businesses or political candidates to obtain positive press coverage....
and that the film was an autobiography of a fictional character named Prabhakar.
Shortly after the film's release, Ram was expected to commence his second project, which was tentatively titled Saddam Hussain and was to feature Dhanush
Dhanush
Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja , better known by his stage name Dhanush , is an Indian film actor, occasional playback singer and lyricist, working in the Tamil film industry...
and Bhavana in the lead roles. However, the commercial failure of Kattradhu Thamizh hindered him from starting his next directorial immediately after, with no producer willing to fund the project. Furthermore, comedian Karunas
Karunas
Karunaas is a Tamil comedic film actor in the Tamil film industry. He has acted with many prominent actors and starred in successful films. Appearing mostly in supporting roles and providing comical relief, he also played lead roles in Dindigul Sarathy and Ambasamudram Ambani...
, who played a pivotal role in that film and had bought the distribution rights of the film, lost around 75 lakhs and demanded compensation for the loss. The project was shelved and Ram took a sabbatical, beginning to pen a new story titled Thanga Meengal
Thanga Meengal
Thanga Meengal is an Indian drama film written and directed by Ram, directing his second film after his highly acclaimed Kattradhu Thamizh. Ram, besides, plays the lead role as well alongside several newcomers. A joint production of Gautham Menon's Photon Kathaas and R. S. Infotainment, the film...
instead. By mid-2009, Touch Stone agreed to produce the film, with Karunas being signed to play the lead role, however the studio opted out the following year after facing financial troubles. Director-producer Gautham Menon
Gautham Menon
Gautham Vasudev Menon is an Indian film director and producer. Mainly working in Tamil cinema, he has also directed Hindi and Telugu films which are remakes of his Tamil films...
eventually accepted to produce it, asking Ram to enact the protagonist's role, which he agreed to after shooting rehearsal scenes with Suba Pandian and cinematographer P. G. Muthiah and being "thoroughly convinced". Thanga Meengal was disclosed to illustrate the story of a middle-aged man who gets separated from his wife and daughter to search for a job "just for the sake of earning money".
Filmography
| Year | Film | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Kattradhu Thamizh | Tamil Tamil language Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore... |
Nominated, Vijay Award for Best Director Vijay Award for Best Director The Vijay for Best Director is given by STAR Vijay as part of its annual Vijay Awards ceremony for Tamil films.-The list:Here is a list of the award winners and the films for which they won.-Nominations:*2007 Vetrimaaran - Polladhavan... Nominated, Vijay Award for Best Story, Screenplay Writer Nominated, Vijay Award for Best Find of the Year Vijay Award for Best Find of the Year The Vijay for Best Find of the Year is given by STAR Vijay as part of its annual Vijay Awards ceremony for Tamil films.-The list:Here is a list of the award winners and the films for which they won.-Nominations:... |
| 2011 | Thanga Meengal Thanga Meengal Thanga Meengal is an Indian drama film written and directed by Ram, directing his second film after his highly acclaimed Kattradhu Thamizh. Ram, besides, plays the lead role as well alongside several newcomers. A joint production of Gautham Menon's Photon Kathaas and R. S. Infotainment, the film... |
Tamil | Filming |