Anna Ben: PS Vinothraj's Kottukkaali is about a girl's struggle with patriarchy

Back in 2021, PS Vinothraj’s debut film, Koozhangal (Pebbles) had its world premiere at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam (IFFR) where it bagged the Tiger award. Three years later, his second film Kottukkaali (The Adamant Girl) premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival. Produced by Sivakarthikeyan and Kalai Arasu P, the film stars Anna Ben and Soori in the lead roles of Meena and Pandi. Meena is betrothed to Pandi but falls in love with a man of oppressed caste. It's then that the families decide to take her to the village shaman to exorcise her of the evil spirit they assume has come to possess her. Ingeniously crafted, and wonderfully acted, the film offers a piercing look into the disparities of caste, religion and gender in a deeply conservative world.

CE caught up with Vinothraj and Anna, shortly after the Berlin premiere, to talk about the film.

Excerpts:

Your debut feature Koozhangal (Pebbles) was inspired by an incident that happened with your own sister. How did the idea of Kottukkaali come to you?

Vinothraj: This film is also inspired by my life. A distant relative went through something similar. Like the kid in the film, I also used to see such situations when I was young. However, after growing up, I started doing research and thought that these superstitions should be addressed by me as a responsible filmmaker.

How long after Pebbles did it take you to write and make this film?

V: The pre-production and writing went hand in hand. It took almost two and a half years to finalize the script. Right from the dialogues, everything was written along with inputs from my relatives and sisters.

Anna, what made you get on board for Kottukkaali? Have you seen his Pebbles?

Anna: I was aware of Vinothraj and I was familiar with Pebbles even though I hadn't watched it. When he came to me, I was pleasantly surprised because the story that he wanted to tell was very rooted in Madurai. But he had a lot of confidence and faith in me which gave me a lot of strength to do something like this.

The first thing he told me was that there were no dialogues for me. That was very interesting for me because it is a space that I have not explored. And then he narrated the story, and I was immediately in love with it.

In essence, it's a very universal subject, about a girl's struggle and the patriarchy. It goes beyond language boundaries.

Vinoth, unlike Pebbles, you have well-known actors in Kottukkaali. What made you opt for them? What were the advantages and challenges?

V: I liked all of Anna's previous work, and she was my first choice to play Meena. Her character in the film is such that even though there are no dialogues, a lot of facial expressions and reactions are required to show her stubbornness, that she's really adamant. I needed someone with very powerful eyes because most of the talking was through the eyes.

Both the artists never gave me the feeling that I was working with big names. They were good, normal, just themselves which really helped while shooting.

I wanted Soori Sir to be part of this film because we both come from the same place near Madurai. When he watched Pebbles, he met me. He respected my craft and work and was very happy to work with me. Soori Sir took the responsibility of making Pandi as rooted and realistic as possible.

Anger is an emotion that informs both your films. Does rage fascinate you as an emotional exploration on screen? 

V: A filmmaker’s obvious inspiration would be his childhood experience, and the situations around him while growing up. The place where I come from is either about extreme violence or extreme love. They're all good people, but they're always at the extremes, whether it's love or violence. I wanted to show that in my film. I wanted to show exactly how the people there emote.

Talking of journeys, what is it about road trips that inspire you as a filmmaker?

V: I love road movies a lot. When I travel, I get to meet people, get new stories, learn a few things about myself as well, and meet great artists.

I think the motif of the journey also gives a sense of propulsion to your films… Was the opening sequence shot without a cut? There’s this style of yours, the camera following people from behind. Tell me more about this signature style…

V: Yes, it is a single-take sequence. Both the first and the last shots have a particular meaning to them. With the opening sequence, I want the audience to travel along with the characters. In the end, we get the point of view of Pandi. You put yourself into the film and decide what Pandi will do. The camera tracking behind the characters makes sure that the audiences are brought inside the film. Someone who watched the film told us that he felt he was walking along with the characters. That is what we wanted and we're happy that it happened.