The credits open with a grainy film montage of the streets and markets of Madurai. We then follow from the first-person perspective of a convict in a prison, who minutes after being released, gets stabbed mercilessly by a hooded figure. A voice from the audience howls in joy; perhaps, the audiences know that when we come back to this moment later in the film, the tugging at our heartstrings will transfix us to our seats. 15 years after its release, Subramaniapuram is back on the big screens, it still continues to haunt and amaze the audiences, and it still hasn’t aged a day.
“It’s astonishing that it still looks so fresh in visuals, performances, and music. The fact that people have been celebrating this film every year on the anniversary proves the impact,” says Vignesh, a Chennai-based software engineer, who couldn’t get enough of the frenzy outside a theatre in Chennai on Friday.
There’s nothing like a dream debut film for a filmmaker, but Subramaniapuram was much more than that to actor-director Sasikumar. “Coming from the school of filmmaker Bala, there were a lot of expectations from me. I had to be more responsible towards that and at the same time figure out how I can stand apart from him. So I wanted to start with a bang.” Being his own producer gave him enough freedom to do whatever it takes, he adds. However, inching towards the release of the film on July 4, 2008, was tense, he says. “And just like then, I am once again overseeing the release, giving tickets, and so on. But I am not letting myself get too worked up this time because this re-release has no commercial goals. This mixture of excitement and fear I feel is more about celebrating the film we did.”
The director says that the team had planned only a get-together to watch the film at a preview theatre. “But we realised that an entire generation watched the film only on television — they’d have been in school or college when it was released. And this is a film that has to be watched in a theatre with a crowd.” There lies the answer to why Sasikumar chose to have this celebration on its 15-year anniversary instead of, say, waiting for 5 more years — – there can’t be a better time to experience a film like this on the big screen than when the whole of cinema has been figuring out the post-OTT environment.
Samuthirakani, Jai, Sasikumar, and Ganja Karuppu at a theatre playing ‘Subramaniapuram’
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Getting theatres for a film with an all-new cast and a debutant director has always been tough, 2008 or 2023. “Back then, I didn’t get a good share of screens and there weren’t any morning shows. That’s why we wanted to have an 8:30 AM show this time. A long-time desire got fulfilled,” says Sasikumar.
Subramaniapuram’s revered cult status in Tamil cinema has a lot to do with how it re-established and popularised its mumblecore sensibility, in what the film pulls off with a low-budget, its hyper-realistic setting and picturisation, the picture-perfect recreation of the ‘80s Madurai, and the subversion of the Tamil cinema rowdy who until then had no resemblance to these two simple young boys. As Sasikumar points out, the impact of this was such that a series of similar rural-based attempts came out shortly after the film.
Shot in live locations and with simple camera movements, Subramaniapuram sketched the lives of a group of unemployed friends — – Azhagar (Jai), Paraman (Sasikumar), Kaasi (Ganja Karuppu), Dumka (Maari), and Dopa (Visithran) — who get entangled in a quagmire due to their loyalty for Kanagu (Samuthirakani). Azhagar is the Romeo to his Juliet Thulasi (Swathy) and Azhagar goes nowhere without Paraman, a ruffian with his heart in the right place. Though Azhagar’s romance and the repercussions that follow form the cornerstone of it all, Kaasi takes the cake as the most intriguing character of all — his story begins when his friend calls him unfit to even afford a single beedi and we soon see him do more than expected to have earn money, while lighting up a beedi.
The camera work and production design are quite striking. Long single-takes shot on film cameras, sharp features but with smooth highlights, frames that take in chaos and moments that imbue tranquillity, Subramaniapuram will glue you to the screen. Some frames are packed with people — be it a funeral procession or a temple festival — and then there are desolate sequences shot in obscure locations. Be it the place where Azhagar and Paraman hide, the narrow lanes of the town, or the river bed with bushes placed perfectly on the shoreline to hide a killing in the background, the locations of Subramaniapuram come to life in the large canvas. “That’s exactly what I was thinking as well. I haven’t been in films with such raw locations since then. This reminds me how we used to remove the overhead cable wires since it’s a story set in the 80s,” says Jai.
‘Subramaniapuram’ playing at a theatre in Chennai
| Photo Credit:
Bhuvanesh Chandar
Not even the farthest vehicle or poster in the mise en scene takes the period for granted, and the attention to detail is truly impressive. The placements of these period markings, for instance, like the poster of the 1979 film Maanthoppu Kiliye or the promotion of 1980’s Murattu Kaalai on a rickshaw to a sequence set during the release of the Rajinikanth film, a story is told parallelly as well. Sasikumar really seems to like playing with such elements in his mise en scene and so you can see two strangers in love, unrelated to the story, often in the background, weaving their own Subramaniapuram.
At the heart of it, this is a simple tale about friendship, love and betrayal, and that the storytelling struck the right emotional chords of the audiences is the most pivotal of reasons for still being so fresh, says Samuthirakani. “Betrayal is something people face on a daily basis and so that will always connect with the people and they will root against a character like Kanagu.” James Vasanthan’s stirring songs and background scores either sting you or excite you. Sudarshan, an aspiring music director, is amazed by the sound design of the film. “And the humour isn’t forced but organically written into each of the scenes.”
“From the music and re-recording by James Vasanthan to production design by Paandi or the camera work by SR Kathir, it all came together perfectly,” says Samuthirakani. Jai, visibly overwhelmed, is seeing the full film for the first time since 2008 — he says he can’t help but observe some imperfections in his performance — but the release is a cause for celebration now. “I was young and not mature enough to understand success back then.” For Sasikumar, who will return to the direction this year with a web series, will Subramaniapuram’s looming image add unnecessary pressure? “All stories are new stories and so it will feel like a new film. Just because I did Subramaniapuram, I can’t be overconfident about a new subject. In fact, even I can’t make a Subramaniapuram again; it’s a product of its time and I can’t emulate it even if you give me crores of money.” As Samuthirkani says, that’s why some films are called cults.
Subramaniapuram is currently running in theatres