Vijay Sethupathi pays glorious tribute to late director S P Jananathan
I wish I had spent more time with director S P Janananthan: Vijay Sethupathi.
Actor
and producer Vijay Sethupathi on Friday paid rich tributes to director S
P Jananathan at a media briefing organised at the Prasad Lab to promote
the late director's last film Laabam, which is to hit screens on
September 9.
Participating in the event, Vijay Sethupathi, who
plays the lead in Laabam, said director S P Jananathan's loss was indeed
a huge one and that his close associate, Mr. Aalayamani, turning
emotional while delivering the welcome address was understandable.
"Nothing
can console Mr Aalayamani, who has been with Director S P Jananathan
from the start. I have known them from the time I was a junior artiste
and knocked on their door for opportunities."
The actor said that
he felt like a sinner for not having spent more time with the late
director. "I wish I had spent more time with director S P Jananathan. I
didn't know that time was such a curse. Had I known, I would have spent
more time with the late director," he said.
Describing the
deep bond that they shared, Vijay Sethupathi said, "Director S P
Jananathan and I had great understanding and love for one another. It
was something like a father-son relationship. You don't realise its
significance when the person is there. If you have someone you cherish,
please express your admiration and love for them."
The actor also
made it clear that the complete credit for such a thought provoking
film must go to the late director. "If this film has come out well, the
credit for it must all go to the late S P Jananathan sir."
"I
have known the producer of this film Aarumuga Kumar for over 12 years. I
have produced four films but I don't keep track of their budgets or
accounts. This is because I fear that I will lose the art I have in me,
if I develop a penchant for business or finance. I have a school friend
called Chandrashekar who takes care of my accounts. I haven't taken a
salary for this film. I have got the good fortune of producing this film
and I don't know which forefathers' noble deed of mine has fetched me
this blessing," Vijay Sethupathi explained.
The actor went on to
say that director S P Jananathan believed that cinema was not just
entertainment and that it was a lot more than that.
"He used to
say that it makes people think and change. We come across so many
instances where people have said, "This scene changed me or this scene
got me thinking." Art leads people to think and change. Therefore, he
thought it was wrong to call cinema as just entertainment," Vijay
Sethupathi recalled.
Choosing to explain what Laabam was all
about as envisaged by the late director, Vijay Sethupathi chose to read
out certain lines S P Jananathan had himself penned about the film...
"I
think the British came to India, looking at only its cultivation and
farming practices being carried out in our country's villages. If it
were just gold or diamonds that they were after, they could have taken
it and left. They were taking cotton and sugarcane being grown here for
centuries together as there is a worldwide market for these goods.There
are around 2000 sugarcane mills in India and all of them function with
only sugarcane as the raw material.
"From the sugar they get from
the sugarcane to the molasses that they make using sugar to the
alcoholic varieties they make using molasses to the milk chocolate to
the electricity that they generate to the paper they make from the
chaff, all of them come from agriculture.
"There is nothing
called waste with regard to agricultural produce. Therefore, there are
several factories and industries running depending on the agricultural
produce. Crores are being made. A farmer, who goes in the evening and
stands in a queue to buy a bottle of alcohol, does not know that the
beer or the brandy that he is buying is made from what he produced and
that others are making huge profits. It is about this irony that Laabam
speaks," the actor read out.
The actor also thanked the Tamil
Nadu government for having re-opened theatres. He said, "Lakhs of
families comprise the film industry. I thank the government on behalf of
all of them. I also wholeheartedly welcome all fans and film lovers
back to the theatres."
Earlier, a minute of silence was observed as homage to the great director.
The
producer of the film, Aarumuga Kumar said, "Vijay Sethupathi and I have
jointly produced this film. When I looked at the song and the trailer
of the film on the big screen today, I was reminded of what director S P
Jananathan used to tell me when he was alive. He would often say, "When
you watch this on the big screen, it will give you another feeling
altogether." I realised today that what he had said then was absolutely
true.
"SP Jananathan sir was a great lover of art. When we had
problems like lockdown, he would insist in a firm voice that Laabam was a
film for the simple and the downtrodden people and that we would have
to give importance to releasing the film in theatres over OTT platforms.
As per his wish, this film is to release in theatres."
Speaking
on the occasion, music director of the film, D Imman fondly recalled his
association with the late director and the experience of composing
music for the film.
He said, "The experience of working with
director S P Jananathan is such a memorable one. Before becoming a known
name in cinema, I had the opportunity to show my scratches to director R
K Selvamani. He was very encouraging. And then, I scored music for my
first film. After that, I had to struggle for my next opportunity. At
that time, I was residing in Purasaiwalkam. It was at this time that
director S P Jananathan sir came to my house, acknowledging the fact
that I was a music director. He was was first director after my debut as
a music director to place faith in my musical skills and come home.
"I
got an opportunity to work with him in Laabam after a long time.
Working with him was a learning experience. We would talk world
politics. Jananathan sir was like an encyclopedia. His attention to
detail was so impressive.There is a song in this film called
Seruvom...Seruvom... . For this song, I had used a Chinese instrument
called an Erhu. Usually, the musical instruments shown on screen in a
song will vary from what we actually use for the recording. However,
Jananathan sir took great pains to learn about this instrument and its
appearance and the political history at the time of its origin. He made
sure that the instrument shown on screen was in fact an Erhu. Despite
being knowledgable and well read, he would pay great attention to learn
about stuff that he did not know.
"Personally, it was a
shattering experience when I had gone to see him at the hospital. That
is because I had seen my mother in the same ICU, 12 years ago in the
same situation. S P Jananathan sir was a wonderful human being and it is
an irreparable loss to all of us that he has left us so early," the
music director said.
Several other actors and dignitaries
including FEFSI President R K Selvamani, director R V Udhayakumar
participated in the event and paid homage to the late director.
