Bryi Part-1: Avian adventure  

Director John Glady talks about his debut film Byri Part-1, what the title connotes significance of pigeon races in southern Tamil Nadu and more 
Bryi Part-1: Avian adventure  
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The bond between pigeons and humans goes back centuries. Once messengers during wars, their domestication and selective breeding led to them being used in sporting events and racing. Byri Part-1 attempts to narrate a story behind the races while delving into the regional significance behind it. The film is helmed by debutant John Glady, who has previously worked with directors Vetrimaaran and Sanjeev of Thakka Thakka fame. The short film which was a semi-final contender in Naalaya Iyakkunar, and earned much recognition, has now been made into a full-length feature format starring newcomers Syed Majeed and Meghna Ellen in lead roles.

Drawing comparisons to the life of pigeons and humans, Glady says, “If you take 50 pigeons for training during a season, only 10 will make it to the race as it is very difficult to save them from the attack of falcons. This is very similar to human life where only a few people can surpass those above them. The core plot of the story is based on this theme.”

John Glady is also quick to clarify that his film is completely different from Dhanush’s Maari although one can draw similarities based on pigeon racing.

Elucidating the nature of these races, Glady says, “There are majorly three different varieties in pigeon racing. Thoothukudi, Chennai and Madurai are famous for homer (type of pigeon) racing. Each one of these cities has clubs that conduct these races. They release these pigeons for a certain distance, say, 100 km or 200 km. The quickest one to return is declared the winner.” He further adds, “Dhanush’s Maari showcased ‘karna’ type of pigeon racing, a bird that specialises in somersaulting in the air. The winning pigeon is selected based on the number of times it does that on air.”

Byri, set in the districts of Nagercoil and Kanyakumari, centers around ‘valarpu pura pandhayam.’ “At 6 am, two pigeons are set for the race. Every 20 mins, the pigeon should cross its nest after which it should once an hour until 5 pm. The first process repeats after that. The referee cancels the tournament if a byri (falcon) attacks the bird or if he spots someone cheating,” he shares, noting that there are at least 500 people in Nagercoil who are involved in the sport.

As much as the film focuses on the bird, their style and the generational sport, Byri also throws light on the bonding between a mother and son where the mom pushes the son to gain education so he doesn’t get sucked into the politics of this sport. “We have researched in detail about the sport, bought books from the US and spoke to multiple pigeon racers in the region to get the details right. We have also tried to weave in elements very specific to the region including language, food, religion and politics while keeping the commercial aspect intact,” Glady adds.

Interestingly, Byri has more than 700 CGI shots to showcase the pigeons and their movements. Glady also reveals that they have tried to use several villu paatu (an ancient form of musical storytelling) for narrating the story.

While John Glady, Ramesh Arumugam, Vinu, Saranya Ravichandran, Karthik Prasanna and Dinesh play prominent roles, Byri also stars real-life pigeon racers in key roles.

Byri has cinematography by AV Vasantha Kumar and editing by RS Satish. Music for the film is composed by Arun Raj of Thadam fame. Produced by V Durairaj of DK Productions, the film is set to hit theatres in February.

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