'I have a dream'

Lyricist and screenwriter Kabilan Vairamuthu hopes that his documentary, Ilaingargal Ennum Naam, will encourage youngsters to take to politics
'I have a dream'

Not many are aware that the multi-faceted Kabilan Vairamuthu, apart from being a poet, novelist, lyricist and recently the screenwriter for Vivegam, was also a part of a student movement at the tender age of 17. The trials and tribulations he then endured have now been captured in a documentary--Ilaingargal Ennum Naam--which is also about youngsters entering politics.

"When we were in college, we started a movement called Makkal Anukka Peravai (MAP). This documentary is about why we started it, how the networking happened, the issues we faced, and why we had to discontinue," says Kabilan. The documentary also touches upon recent topics like the Jallikattu protest.

"Today, there's a lot of discussion about youth politics," he says. "Our documentary sheds light on a group that tried to make it happen. We made this film so the masses can know that something like this already happened. Also, we believe that the thoughts conveyed in it could be useful to our society."

Ilaingargal Ennum Naam dwells on the activities of MAP between 1999 and 2009. "We started the group when we were in class 12. The film will show what we did with the maturity we had at that age. So, no, it won't be a textbook example for the next generation, but the dream and the vision in the film is a message that I believe deserves to be delivered," adds Kabilan.

Directed by Karthigheyun who has produced many TV programmes, the documentary also talks about what Kabilan calls the 'third integration'. "The first integration happened during the freedom struggle when youngsters took to the streets to protest against the ruling side. The second happened in the 60s when the Dravidian movement caused the youth of the State to stand up to save the Tamil language. Now, after we have met a number of people from all walks of life, we have realised that there are many reasons why there should be a third integration," says Kabilan who believes that the issues we face in today's world have dramatically increased.

The documentary ends with the mention of a new concept envisioned by MAP. "Similar to how there are B Schools for those who want to understand and study management, there should be P Schools (Political schools) which would be the go-to centre for those who would like to make a career out of politics. We're working hard towards it; it's our mission."

Kabilan is happy with the response the documentary has received so far. "Given the general receptions documentaries get in our country, I'm glad that it has received more views than what I expected. I guess I can also call it a biopic, considering it tracks the life developments of the members of MAP (laughs)."

Calling such documentaries "a good way of communicating with people", Kabilan assures that many such videos are on the cards. "As we had a lot to share, this video couldn't get shorter than 37 minutes. It was initially an hour long actually. Our upcoming videos will be much shorter in length," he adds.

Director KV Anand released the trailer for Ilaingargal Ennum Naam, while director AR Murugadoss released the documentary on YouTube recently.

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