Bid for Cannes slot for 'Pallikoodam'

Director Thankar Bachan and producer Viswas Sundar are making serious efforts to enter their "Pallikoodam" in the competitive section of the Cannes Film Festival. Vasantha Balan's "Veyyil" has already been selected for screening in the non-competitive section of the festival.

Thankar Bachan and Viswas Sundar have received a letter from the Cannes festival authorities stating that "they will take a look at "Pallikoodam" and if it has merit and fulfils the required parameters, it will be selected for the competitive section". Thankar would know by the third week of this month whether the film would make it or not.

Producer Viswas Sundar has sent a two-hour international copy of the film with English and French sub-titles to Canada.

The film is based on the novel 'Kalavaadiya Pozhudugal (Stolen Moments) written by Thankar Bachan. It is set against the backdrop of a school in a remote Tamil village and has Narain, Sneha, Thankar and Shreya Reddy in the cast. The music is by Bharadwaj.

The film tells the stories of five individuals and how the school in which they studied plays an important part in their lives.

While Narain plays the role of a district collector, Sneha is a schoolteacher. Thankar Bachan himself dons the role of a farmer and Seeman plays the role of a filmmaker. Shreya Reddy portrays a midwife in the village. The film deals with four different periods – 1978, 1983, 1991 and 2004. Music director Bharadwaj used different types of instruments, which dominated during those periods for the songs. The editing is said to be the highlight of the film.

Touching on the subject of the film, Thankar Bachan says that a school lays the foundation for any individual. Many films have been made based on teenage romance in school, but no one has so far attempted the theme, which he has dealt with in "Pallikoodam". The film will make the educationists sit up and think, adds Thankar.

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Pallikoodam