The Indian film industry is one of the oldest and largest in the world, and India is an even bigger market for film exhibition and distribution. Even after more than a century since the release of the first Indian film, in 1912, gender parity in Indian cinema is still a far cry. Films reflect and contribute immensely to the socio-political environment of a country. Around 48% of India’s population is female, yet their participation in cinema is paltry. This is telling of who still shapes popular narratives in the Indian context. Representation of women, the space they are given on screen, and equal pay for male and female actors have been topics of discussion for a while now and are undeniably improving- albeit in a laggard manner. Notwithstanding, the number of women working behind the screen continues to be measly. Even though the number is growing it is mostly restricted to choreography, costume designing, playback singing, and hair and make-up. Though script writing, cinematography and direction remain male-dominated fields, women are gaining foothold and are producing remarkable projects in the run.
One such director is Sudha Kongara, who works predominantly in the Tamil film industry. She began her stint in cinema by assisting veteran filmmaker Mani Ratnam for around six and half years, and assisted director Bala in his national award winning period drama Paradesi (2013). She also wrote the screenplay for the English language Indian film Mitr- My Friend (2002) which had a largely female cast and crew, and was directed by actor-director Revathi. Kongara’s directorial debut Drohi (2011) about two friends turned rivals in a Chennai slum slumped at the box office and failed to create major ripples in the industry.
However, her sophomore film, Irudhi Suttru (2016), simultaneously released as Saala Khadoos in Hindi, helped establish her as a notable director, not only in the south but also in Bollywood, which was forced to turn its attention towards her. The film was a glance into the plight of women’s boxing in India and saw actor R. Madhavan make a comeback to the silver screen after a hiatus, alongside boxer turned actor Ritika Singh in the lead role. A remake of the same, Guru (2017), wherein Singh retained her role and actor Venkatesh essayed the male lead, marked Kongara’s debut in the Telugu film industry. Following this she took up the task of adapting Air Deccan founder Captain G.R. Gopinath’s autobiography Simply Fly (2009) for the screen. After several months of speculations, the Suriya-starrer Soorarai Pottru (2020) released on an OTT platform in November a few days ahead of Diwali to tremendous positive reception. It is also Aparna Balamurali’s debut film in Tamil.
Left to Right: 1. Madhavan and Ritika Singh-starrer Saala Khadoos 2. Film Soorarai Pottru starring Suriya and Aparna Balamurali.
Even in such a diverse line up, certain highlights materialize in terms of great writing, compelling performances, amazing soundtracks and even better lyrics. Songs in her films do not disrupt the story, moreover enhance its progression with seemingly unembellished emotions. Her propensity for non-linear narrative and starting in media res has worked well. Her methods of research and representation are meticulous.
Meanwhile, she also directed one segment of a five-part anthology for Amazon Prime Video, Putham Pudhu Kaalai (2020), meaning ‘A Brand New Dawn’, centered on the theme of new beginnings and new chances, entirely conceptualized and shot during the pandemic. Gautham Vasudev Menon, Suhasini Maniratnam, Rajiv Menon, and Karthik Subbaraj directed the other sections. A 3-day shoot with a five-member crew with limited equipment was a challenging process, revealed Kongara, while also remarking that it was pretty refreshing as the project came her way during the early months of pandemic induced creative vacuum. Her segment ‘Ilamai Idho Idho’ starring Kalyani Priyadarshan, Urvashi, Jayaram and Kalidas Jayaram is an endearing story of how love makes one feel “foolish, happy and most importantly young”, analogous to its title which reads ‘Youth. Here we come’.
To those who have watched her work, Kongara’s versatility is glaringly obvious, that too early on in her directorial career. Even in such a diverse line up, certain highlights materialize in terms of great writing, compelling performances, amazing soundtracks and even better lyrics. Songs in her films do not disrupt the story, moreover enhance its progression with seemingly unembellished emotions. Her propensity for non-linear narrative and starting in media res has worked well. Her methods of research and representation are meticulous. She is known to have hired people to perfect pronunciation and local-slangs of the language the characters speak in, and is also particular about conducting sensitivity tests and involving concerned people in the creative process. She has expressed an inclination towards ‘casting against the screen’, that is to not restrict an actor to the roles they have previously portrayed. She also believes that primary characters contribute indispensably to the unravelling of stories. Kongara is very demanding and a perfectionist of a director, yet not an actor’s nightmare. She rather eases their transition to under the characters’ skin, evident through countless reading sessions; popular in theatre circles but quite uncommon to films which were held prior to Soorarai Pottru’s making. Not only are women in her films ambitious and organically upright but men too are pragmatic, believable and without unwarranted bravado.
Her next project, the four-part Netflix anthology Paava Kathaigal (2020) was released on 18th December. Leading filmmakers Gautham Vasudev Menon, Vignesh Shivan, Vetrimaran and Kongara have each directed a segment. This project started before the pandemic and also marks the OTT and short film debut of these feature filmmakers. Its title translates to ‘Tales of Sin’ and is a collection of stories that are a conjunction of honour, pride and love. Kongara directed the short film “Thangam” for this, a story about love and friendship, and has received positive responses.
It would be unfair to claim Kongara has created her own niche because she has already garnered the assent of the mainstream. Directors like her, women and otherwise, may be few but the numbers are constantly picking up. More traditional feature filmmakers are trying their hand at OTT productions. The creative freedom and accommodation of varied content the medium offers has resulted in the production of some noteworthy work, more so since the pandemic. It will be great to see more women on and off-screen, including on the small screens as well.
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