Tamil cinema breaks into the big league with slum drama

With Tamil cinema giants Dhanush and Vetrimaaran as his producers, M Manikandan was never going to fail as a first-time director.

A charming tale of the dogged spirit of two Chennai slum children in pursuing their dream meant that Cameron Bailey, the artistic director of Toronto film festival, couldn't ignore it either.

The result: 'Kaakkaa Muttai' (The Crow's Egg) became part of the Discovery section of the Toronto festival, a category that had welcomed names like Christopher Nolan and Steve McQueen as debutant directors. "It is an unusual independent film coming out of Tamil Nadu," said Bailey as he introduced the film to a packed audience at the 39th Toronto International Film Festival.

A delectable title and smooth script helped 'Kaakkaa Muttai' become the first film of a debutant Tamil director to be showcased at a major festival abroad in a long time. "Most of the first-time directors from our part of the world don't get this kind of opportunity. I didn't get it," confessed Vetrimaaran, who arrived in Toronto along with Manikandan for the world premiere of the film.

When two young brothers from a slum in Chennai lose their playground to a new pizza outlet, they surrender more than just a game. A tree on the edges of the ground was the only source of the children's nutritional luxury — crow's eggs for refreshments. Deprived of their daily snack, the children turn their attention to the new restaurant and tasting the pizza becomes their sole dream. Their lowly social status, however, dashes any hopes of gaining an entry to the outlet.

"It is also the story of globalisation," explained Manikandan in a question and answer session with the Toronto audience. A trained cinematographer, Manikandan landed the idea for the film during lunch with his young son in a neighbourhood pizza outlet in Chennai. "I saw the eyes of poor children resting on the pizza plates inside," recalled the director, who went on to write the story and later the script for his first feature film influenced by the children.

"He showed me the script and I showed the first 10 pages to Dhanush," said Vetrimaaran, who was impressed with Manikandan's talent as a director in his first short film, 'Wind'. "Dhanush said he was ready to finance the film," added the filmmaker, who won the national award for Best Director in 2011 for 'Aadukalam' (Arena).

Once he had the backing of two of Tamil cinema's biggest names, Manikandan set out to make the film. But finding the two children to play the lead roles soon proved difficult. Once his assistant directors found his cast in a slum on the outskirts of Chennai, Manikandan went to live with the children's family for nearly two months. "I had to train them by living with them and winning their trust," he said. "When it was certain that the children were ready, we began the shooting."

According to Toronto festival's Bailey, many Indian filmmakers have unsuccessfully tried to recapture the blend of harsh realism and charming fantasy in English director Danny Boyle's 'Slumdog Millionaire', which brought worldwide attention to children living in India's urban slums. "The Crow's Egg is a breath of fresh air, not because it mimics Danny Boyle — it doesn't — but because this family film at last finds a way to shift the lens to an exuberantly Indian perspective," said Bailey.

'Kaakkaa Muttai' is vying for the People's Choice Award at the Toronto festival, the same award won by 'Slumdog Millionaire' in 2008 before it went on to sweep the Oscars. Set for a Diwali release, the film is already eyeing commercial success with Fox Star Studios buying the distribution rights of the film.

Mani Ratnam's 'Kannathil Muthamittal' was the first Tamil film to be screened at the Toronto festival in 2002. It was followed by Priyadarshan's 'Kanchivaram' in 2008 and 'Azhagarsamiyin Kudhirai' (Azhagarsami's Horse) by Suseenthiran three years later.