Debutant director Karthikeyan Mani: Tamil cinema has created a brand of ticket-worthy experience for small films

Time of India

20-05-2025

My film would portray an accurate depiction of Madras,' proclaims debutant director
Karthikeyan Mani
while talking to us about his upcoming comedy drama,
Madras Matinee
.
Elaborating further, he shares, 'The film revolves around a father (
Kaali Venkat
), who isn't treated well in the outside world, going through a crisis after witnessing a gap between himself and his children. His story will be narrated in the film by a sci-fi writer, played by
Sathyaraj
sir.'
'I DIDN'T THINK SATHYARAJ SIR WOULD BE INTERESTED IN ACTING IN A DEBUTANT'S FILM'
About casting Kaali Venkat and Sathyaraj for his film, he says, 'I needed a person like Kaali Venkat to play the father character and he immediately connected with his role and the film. I didn't think Sathyaraj sir would be interested in doing this role. But, to my surprise, he agreed to do it when we went and showed him a few of the film's portions.'
by Taboola
by Taboola
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'IN TAMIL CINEMA, THE LOWER MIDDLE-CLASS IS ASSOCIATED WITH VIOLENCE FOR THE SAKE OF DRAMA'
'Generally, in Tamil cinema, the lower middle-class and slum dwellers are associated with violence for the sake of drama. I think we are a stable society that's not too prone to violence,' he shares and adds, 'I feel the dedication our people show towards their family isn't often depicted on our screen. To make a film on that aspect is the most meaningful part I could do as a filmmaker.'
'MAINSTREAM DOCUMENTARIES DON'T ROMANTICISE OUR CULTURES'
Madras Matinee focuses on the people living in Chennai rather than its landscape, informs the filmmaker. 'We have several microcultures across Tamil Nadu. Though I'm happy that vloggers cover them, we don't have a mainstream documentary culture to romanticise them. There is room to use different cultures around us in our films,' he shares.
'WE NEED SEVERAL MID-SIZED FILMS TO KEEP THE ECOSYSTEM GOING'
As a budding flimmaker, Karthikeyan feels encouraged at the recent success of midbudget films. 'It's good for the industry. An ecosystem fostering different sets of films and producers is important. You need a pool of good mid-sized films to keep that ecosystem going. Also, similar to what Malayalam cinema has done, Tamil cinema has created a brand of ticket-worthy moviegoing experience for small films,' he says.
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