I decide on climax and start working backwards, says ace director at film appreciation workshop

“Since my films are based on real-life incidents, I decide on the climax and start working backwards while writing the story,” said director Balaji Sakthivel who was in the city on Thursday.

The award-winning director was interacting with college students during a workshop on film appreciation organised by the Department of English, Periyar EVR College.

The man known for such hard-hitting realistic movies such as Kaadhal and Vazhakku Enn 18/9 shared his passion for making realistic cinema with the participants. His frank talk and smiling disposition made the session lively. Shooting quick witted replies to the doubts raised by students, he explained concepts in an interesting manner.

The day-long workshop featured the screening of two films: the Italian film Bicycle Thieves and the Tamil film Kalloori, followed by students’ reviews and interactive sessions.

While Bicycle Thieves is based on the social condition of post-World War II Italy, Kalloori portrays the trials and tribulations of college students.

“Watching Kalloori brings back flood of memories. I feel I could have done a lot of things differently. For instance, I could have toned down certain scenes where there was too much drama ,” Mr.Sakthivel said.

“I have been stereotyped as a director who gives his films a tragic ending. But such an ending is essential to convey the intended message,” he said in reply to a question by a student.

B.Mathivanan, head, department of Tamil, Bharathidasan University, K.Sekar, principal, Periyar EVR College, and A.William, head, department of English, also addressed students during the workshop.

A total of 100 students from the department of English and department of Visual Communication of the college participated in the workshop.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Tiruchirapalli / by Deepika Muralidharan / Tiruchi – January 10th, 2014