Hard truths in soft doses

When  M Suurya made the decision to write, direct and produce “Dhusrajanam”, or “Rebirth” as it’s known in English, fame and fortune were far from his mind. Rather, the film was born out of his own frustrations and the desire to convey a message to his people – the Indian community in Malaysia.
His next problem was more difficult to resolve: How to get across what he had to say through a story that would entertain but not offend.
The result is a Tamil-language film about a young man named Kuttan who aspires to be a badminton champion. But the abusive stepsister and stepbrother with whom he lives want him to become a classical Indian dancer so that he can perform at religious festivals and earn them a tidy sum.
Selected for the Asian Contemporary category of the World Film Festival of Bangkok, the 85-minute feature depicts Kuttan’s struggle with his desire to be a world-class badminton player, his reaction upon learning that his dead father was in fact a badminton champ and not a dancer as he has been told, and how he breaks free from what is expected of him, in order to live up to his own true potential.
Suurya hopes that the movie will inspire his viewers, and most particularly the Indian community in Malaysia, to break out of the cultural stereotypes that are holding them back and force them to better themselves.
“The Indian community today, especially the younger generation, is very different. In our parents’ and grandparents’ times, everyone worked hard despite the lack of education to provide a better life for themselves and their families.
“But today, the Indian community seems to have become ‘left behind’ in terms of progress compared to the other races in Malaysia. So many of our young people are involved in gangsterism and other vices.
“I don’t know why – maybe it is because they feel demotivated when they see how far ahead the other races are. Or maybe they feel it is ‘expected’ of them. Either way, this is not how it should be. Our fathers and grandfathers did not work so hard for us to become like this,” says Suurya during an interview after the first screening of “Rebirth” at SF World Cinema at CentralWorld last weekend.
He adds that through his main character (played by local actor M Subash), he’s sending a message to his fellow Malaysian Indians: Don’t depend on politicians or community leaders to take care of you, help you achieve your dreams and give you a better life. Only you can do that for yourself.”
Nevertheless, he’s tried not to be too hard-hitting with his message, opting for what he describes as a “soft, indirect approach”.
“In fact, if I didn’t tell you the motivation behind this film, you probably wouldn’t have guessed just be watching it. I just hope that it will inspire the viewers,” he says.
“Rebirth” is the first of what Suurya’s calls a “serious film with a message” and he’s planning more such films in the future. His previous works include the Malay-language films “Pensil” (“Pencil”) and “Sumpahan Puaka” (“Curse”).
“Generally speaking, Malaysian audiences like movies with a lot of action, drama and singing and dancing. They haven’t quite developed a taste for serious movies. But there are plenty of movies out there that are solely for entertainment, and film is such a powerful medium that can be used to send important messages and discuss things that matter,” he says.
“So that is what I want to try to do from now on – to use my movies to talk about important issues,” he says, adding that his next film, which is currently in the planning stage, will be about dying cultural traditions in Malaysia.
The 28 year-old director who hails from a small-town in Selangor, dabbled in education and business before figuring out that his best potential lay in show business.
“Maybe, like Kuttan, it is in my blood,” he muses. In his younger days, his father, a barber, used to moonlight as the lead singer in a band.
“When I was younger, he used to bring me along with him whenever he performed. Unlike Kuttan, I'm glad my family never tried to stop me from chasing my dreams.
“But I know that in order to make money in this business, you need to give the audience what they like to see. And in Malaysia, especially for Malay- and Tamil-language films, this means making films that are either in the horror or slapstick genre. But I think slowly they will learn to appreciate other genres as well,” he says.
Suurya says “Rebirth” has been shown at a few cinemas in Malaysia but, as expected, did not receive much attention from locals. The movie, which cost about 200,000 ringgit (Bt1.99 million) to make, managed to earn back about 75 per cent of the amount invested.
He says that he was very surprised when he was notified that the movie had been picked as one of the 60 films to be screened at this year's 11th World Film Festival of Bangkok.
“As a budding producer, this is such a good opportunity for me, and I am sure I will learn so much from the other directors and producers who are here from all over the world,” he says.

SECOND SERVING
“Rebirth” screens at 1.30 pm today at SF World Cinema at CentralWorld as part of the World Film Festival of Bangkok.
The festival continues through Sunday. Tickets cost Bt120. A pack of five tickets is Bt500.
See www.SFCinemaCity.com and www.WorldFilmBKK.com.