A press meet was held in Chennai to launch the movie ‘Neelira’, which is produced by Karthikeyan Santhanam under Stone Bench Studio banner and directed by Somitharan and starring Naveen Chandra, which will hit the theaters worldwide on April 3rd.
The movie ‘Neelira’ stars Naveen Chandra, Sanand, Rupa Koduvayur, Kapila Venu, ‘Kayal’ Vincent, Vidhu, Rohit Kokate, Navayuga, Sidhu Kumaresan, Swathi Krishna and others. Cinematography by Selvaratnam Pradeepan, the film is composed by K. Radha Sridhar has done the editing work with Martin overseeing the art direction. The film is being prepared as a survival thriller based on the challenges faced by the bride and groom, two families, relatives and friends to get married in the context of the civil war in Sri Lanka and has been co-produced by Karthikeyan Santhanam and Karthik Subbaraj on behalf of Stone Bench Studio. The film is distributed by AGS across Tamil Nadu and Ahimsa Entertainment abroad.
Speaking at an event held in Chennai to promote the film ‘Neelira’, which will be released in theaters worldwide from the third of April, Director Someetharan said, “Films from Tamil Nadu would be released when the war was going on at a young age. When I saw those films, I had a desire. Not only me, but also many Eelam artists like me. Someday, can’t we hear our language on this big screen?! Can’t we see some scene of my town.. my home.. on the screen..!” That yearning has been made possible by many artists starting with Eelam. I would like to thank the director-friend Karthik Subburaj for making it possible.
Eelam Tamils all over the world had a thought of not seeing our home cooked pudding on the big screen, and today it has become possible.
The moment when our producer Karthikeyan Santhanam, who had some knowledge of the war in Eelam while I was telling this story, took the decision to make this story into a film was crucial. My thanks to Karthikeyan Santhanam, who made this film with the hope that while trying to film such a story, there is a life in this story, that life will be new to Tamil cinema, Tamil cinema is celebrating new life, and this film will also be celebrated in that way.
I am also thankful to Kalyan for encouraging me to have commercial features in the screenplay I wrote. This film is not an art film or a serious film, it is a film that tells the life from the films we have seen over time.
My thanks to Rana, the producer and actor of Spirit Media, who co-produced this film, AGS, which is releasing it all over Tamil Nadu, and Ahimsa Entertainment, which is releasing it abroad.
We have seen a lot of war films. Many movies are released from Hollywood. We have celebrated those films. In those movies we see both sides shooting and being shot. Today the world is at war. Every day we see and hear news about war. In these messages. We’re looking at the number of bombs. But behind this, where the bomb is falling, whether it’s Israel, whether it’s Iran… there. There will be people. They will have a life of their own. They might be trying to celebrate a birthday, they might be planning a wedding, there might have been a death, something happened at the time the bomb fell. What happens after the bomb falls there? How to change that situation? How can they be nervous? Isn’t there such a tense life, ‘Neelira’ is a film that tells about such a life.
When we watch war movies, we always see them as attacks by two sides. A thousand guns on this side… a thousand guns on that side… We have only seen scenes of shells ringing and guns firing. There are people in between. They have that one life. We tend to think of war only as guns firing from both sides. But that is not the reality.
Life with war is our life. My entire young life from birth to war.
A press meet was held in Chennai to launch the movie ‘Neelira’, which is produced by Karthikeyan Santhanam under Stone Bench Studio banner and directed by Somitharan and starring Naveen Chandra, which will hit the theaters worldwide on April 3rd.
The movie ‘Neelira’ stars Naveen Chandra, Sanand, Rupa Koduvayur, Kapila Venu, ‘Kayal’ Vincent, Vidhu, Rohit Kokate, Navayuga, Sidhu Kumaresan, Swathi Krishna and others. Cinematography by Selvaratnam Pradeepan, the film is composed by K. Radha Sridhar has done the editing work with Martin overseeing the art direction. The film is being prepared as a survival thriller based on the challenges faced by the bride and groom, two families, relatives and friends to get married in the context of the civil war in Sri Lanka and has been co-produced by Karthikeyan Santhanam and Karthik Subbaraj on behalf of Stone Bench Studio. The film is distributed by AGS across Tamil Nadu and Ahimsa Entertainment abroad.
Speaking at an event held in Chennai to promote the film ‘Neelira’, which will be released in theaters worldwide from the third of April, Director Someetharan said, “Films from Tamil Nadu would be released when the war was going on at a young age. When I saw those films, I had a desire. Not only me, but also many Eelam artists like me. Someday, can’t we hear our language on this big screen?! Can’t we see some scene of my town.. my home.. on the screen..!” That yearning has been made possible by many artists starting with Eelam. I would like to thank the director-friend Karthik Subburaj for making it possible.
Eelam Tamils all over the world had a thought of not seeing our home cooked pudding on the big screen, and today it has become possible.
The moment when our producer Karthikeyan Santhanam, who had some knowledge of the war in Eelam while I was telling this story, took the decision to make this story into a film was crucial. My thanks to Karthikeyan Santhanam, who made this film with the hope that while trying to film such a story, there is a life in this story, that life will be new to Tamil cinema, Tamil cinema is celebrating new life, and this film will also be celebrated in that way.
I am also thankful to Kalyan for encouraging me to have commercial features in the screenplay I wrote. This film is not an art film or a serious film, it is a film that tells the life from the films we have seen over time.
My thanks to Rana, the producer and actor of Spirit Media, who co-produced this film, AGS, which is releasing it all over Tamil Nadu, and Ahimsa Entertainment, which is releasing it abroad.
We have seen a lot of war films. Many movies are released from Hollywood. We have celebrated those films. In those movies we see both sides shooting and being shot. Today the world is at war. Every day we see and hear news about war. In these messages. We’re looking at the number of bombs. But behind this, where the bomb is falling, whether it’s Israel, whether it’s Iran… there. There will be people. They will have a life of their own. They might be trying to celebrate a birthday, they might be planning a wedding, there might have been a death, something happened at the time the bomb fell. What happens after the bomb falls there? How to change that situation? How can they be nervous? Isn’t there such a tense life, ‘Neelira’ is a film that tells about such a life.
When we watch war movies, we always see them as attacks by two sides. A thousand guns on this side… a thousand guns on that side… We have only seen scenes of shells ringing and guns firing. There are people in between. They have that one life. We tend to think of war only as guns firing from both sides. But that is not the reality.
Life with war is our life. My entire young life from birth to war
It was just. It was during that war that we studied. It was during that war that we had our childhood games. That war was our game. Our love was in that war, and our marriage was in that war. We lived that war life. To an outsider, war looks like both sides standing tall. But that’s not it. War has become a part of our lives.
How was our life in the war we had become a part of? How were the events in that life? That is what we are saying in this film.
Cinema is about creating anxiety that something will happen. We have seen many such films in the world. A movie called ‘Life is Beautiful’. The film only spoke about the pain of war. The movie did not only tell the pain of war in blood or tears but also the life inside it. We are telling such a life in this film.
I think Tamilians will enjoy this film in this environment. Because there are Tamil cinema fans who can enjoy a sensational thriller and make those films successful.
As far as I am concerned, the fear of death is worse than death itself. This film tells the life of that mortal fear. Nambira is a film about one long night among many such nights. That night, the flutter of that night, the tension of those people will be close to you.
We have heard many stories about Eelam in Tamil Nadu. I know how houses in towns across Tamil Nadu including Coimbatore and Madurai look like. I also know what the houses of the upper class, middle class and common people look like. But I wanted to show these Tamil fans what our homes look like in my Eelam land. So far no such scenario has been fully demonstrated. This film will do the job. How are houses in Eelam? How is the kitchen of that house? How is their life? This movie will tell you that.
When I was studying visual communication at Loyola College, no matter how many stories I told about Eelam, others could not visualize it. Because they have never seen it visually. This film presents that life to you visually without any compromise.
We shot while the war was going on in our town. We were shooting on a VHS camera even when the bombs were falling during the period when no pictures were coming from here. People who were acting in the film will suddenly die. However, the shooting is going on. We have seen such films in the 90s. It was from there that the idea of creating such a story started.
Life is filmed when the war breaks out, but the film also talks about life within and a tension within that life and a marriage within it.
Thanks to Karthik Subpuraj, an IT company youth who came to Chennai from Bengaluru during the war in Sri Lanka to participate in the human chain protest held here to stand for the people, later became a director, producer and became my friend, who made this film possible.
When I was working as an assistant to Balu Mahendra, he once told me, ‘Make our story into a film at least in your first film. I couldn’t take it to the end.’ He said. Thanks to Stone Bench Studio for making it possible today. Thanks to all the actors, actresses and technicians who acted in this film,” he said.
Actress Rupa Koduvayur said, “This is my second Tamil film after Ema Kathaki. This film is as special to me as the first film. This film is special not only to me but to all Tamil people. If we know anything about war, we know that war means there will be weapons, guns, and struggle. But inside it, there will be people. They will face an emotional war. The film I wanted to talk about is not long. The events of the film take place during a long night in the context of the war. I believe the story will have a big impact on the fans.
Thanks to the producers and director for giving me this opportunity. I am a fan of Karthik Subbaraj films. He is not only a director but also a producer who makes meaningful films. He is producing and delivering films with faith in films like Nimjira. I thank him at this moment for that.
Director Somitharan will get a lot of accolades after this film. In this film
It was just. It was during that war that we studied. It was during that war that we had our childhood games. That war was our game. Our love was in that war, and our marriage was in that war. We lived that war life. To an outsider, war looks like both sides standing tall. But that’s not it. War has become a part of our lives.
How was our life in the war we had become a part of? How were the events in that life? That is what we are saying in this film.
Cinema is about creating anxiety that something will happen. We have seen many such films in the world. A movie called ‘Life is Beautiful’. The film only spoke about the pain of war. The movie did not only tell the pain of war in blood or tears but also the life inside it. We are telling such a life in this film.
I think Tamilians will enjoy this film in this environment. Because there are Tamil cinema fans who can enjoy a sensational thriller and make those films successful.
As far as I am concerned, the fear of death is worse than death itself. This film tells the life of that mortal fear. Nambira is a film about one long night among many such nights. That night, the flutter of that night, the tension of those people will be close to you.
We have heard many stories about Eelam in Tamil Nadu. I know how houses in towns across Tamil Nadu including Coimbatore and Madurai look like. I also know what the houses of the upper class, middle class and common people look like. But I wanted to show these Tamil fans what our homes look like in my Eelam land. So far no such scenario has been fully demonstrated. This film will do the job. How are houses in Eelam? How is the kitchen of that house? How is their life? This movie will tell you that.
When I was studying visual communication at Loyola College, no matter how many stories I told about Eelam, others could not visualize it. Because they have never seen it visually. This film presents that life to you visually without any compromise.
We shot while the war was going on in our town. We were shooting on a VHS camera even when the bombs were falling during the period when no pictures were coming from here. People who were acting in the film will suddenly die. However, the shooting is going on. We have seen such films in the 90s. It was from there that the idea of creating such a story started.
Life is filmed when the war breaks out, but the film also talks about life within and a tension within that life and a marriage within it.
Thanks to Karthik Subpuraj, an IT company youth who came to Chennai from Bengaluru during the war in Sri Lanka to participate in the human chain protest held here to stand for the people, later became a director, producer and became my friend, who made this film possible.
When I was working as an assistant to Balu Mahendra, he once told me, ‘Make our story into a film at least in your first film. I couldn’t take it to the end.’ He said. Thanks to Stone Bench Studio for making it possible today. Thanks to all the actors, actresses and technicians who acted in this film,” he said.
Actress Rupa Koduvayur said, “This is my second Tamil film after Ema Kathaki. This film is as special to me as the first film. This film is special not only to me but to all Tamil people. If we know anything about war, we know that war means there will be weapons, guns, and struggle. But inside it, there will be people. They will face an emotional war. The film I wanted to talk about is not long. The events of the film take place during a long night in the context of the war. I believe the story will have a big impact on the fans.
Thanks to the producers and director for giving me this opportunity. I am a fan of Karthik Subbaraj films. He is not only a director but also a producer who makes meaningful films. He is producing and delivering films with faith in films like Nimjira. I thank him at this moment for that.
Director Somitharan will get a lot of accolades after this film. In this film
[21/03, 13:40] Flowing Fizz: Nothing can be shared about the character he is playing right now. But I hope I have acted well in this film. I consider it a blessing to have acted in this film.
I am sure everyone will like the movie Nimjira. Even after watching this movie, you will have this movie in your mind even when you go home. Go to theaters on April 3 and support the film,” he said.
Music director K said, “It’s a pleasure to work together in this film. I’m happy to have contributed to a meaningful film. Congratulations to the director and producer. I hope Nimjira will be a meaningful work and an unforgettable film. Thank you for your support.”
Actor Sanand said, “I am a Chennai born and brought up boy. The life in this film was completely new to me. Director Somitharan has shown many documentary films and some other videos. He also told about the lifestyle of the people there. I acted in the film after hearing that. I have acted in a short film related to war before. I was able to meet a lot of people while working on this film. I talked to a lot of people. I heard their stories. They have many stories about Eelam. Hearing that, I think there should be more Eelam-related movies released. I expect more films to release soon.
Thanks to all the actors, actresses and technicians who acted with me to the publishers and presenters of this film,” he said.
Actor Naveen Chandra said, “I am happy. I have acted in many kinds of films. But this film is very special for me. This film is special not only for me but also for everyone in this team. I also liked the production of this film. Stage artists, short films, new faces, actors from London, Canada… It was a new experience to work with them.
I am playing the role of a captain in this film. Apart from this, I cannot say anything in detail about my character. But if you watch the movie you will all like it. For this film, the director has carefully selected actors from each state for each character – Assam, Mumbai, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu.
The respect given to the actors during the shoot.. was happy. So far I have acted in five films with Stone Bench Studio. It’s like my own film production company. What is special here is that there is equality here. Everyone is obsessed with cinema. They will be interested in creating meaningful work.
Director Karthik Subbaraj will definitely watch my scenes, and then I will act well? Isn’t it? The fear will remain with me. I hope I have acted well.
While movies and web series are busy, producer Karthikeyan Santhanam contacted and explained about the story of the film. I told director Somitharan that I will ask the story. It was only after hearing the story that I wondered about producer Karthikeyan Santhanam’s choice of story. He has chosen the right story. I am proud of this.
Every actor in this film has worked with dedication for the character. Thanks to all of them.
Producer Karthikeyan Santhanam said, “This is our 18th film. A friend of yours speaks well of you while making the sixth film. But you speak English. He advised me to speak it in Tamil. After that I changed myself and am speaking in Tamil. But need to speak in English. Because only then can business be done.
Nimjira is a very special film. A proud film. We will be bravely hanging up our collars for making this film.
I came back here from England in 2012. I was happy there too. I am always happy in life. Karthik Subbaraj became famous in one day by directing ‘Pizza’. After that I met director Somitharan one day along with friends. I have never seen him as a director. Can’t see. He also never saw me as a producer. Can’t see. Because we are good friends.
I didn’t think we would make his film. He didn’t think he would tell us the story either. It’s been a long, long journey. Somitharan has directed a wonderful movie.
Karthik said that he should first choose a story like this and make it into a film. We all worked together for that.
Nothing can be shared about the character he is playing right now. But I hope I have acted well in this film. I consider it a blessing to have acted in this film.
I am sure everyone will like the movie Nimjira. Even after watching this movie, you will have this movie in your mind even when you go home. Go to theaters on April 3 and support the film,” he said.
Music director K said, “It’s a pleasure to work together in this film. I’m happy to have contributed to a meaningful film. Congratulations to the director and producer. I hope Nimjira will be a meaningful work and an unforgettable film. Thank you for your support.”
Actor Sanand said, “I am a Chennai born and brought up boy. The life in this film was completely new to me. Director Somitharan has shown many documentary films and some other videos. He also told about the lifestyle of the people there. I acted in the film after hearing that. I have acted in a short film related to war before. I was able to meet a lot of people while working on this film. I talked to a lot of people. I heard their stories. They have many stories about Eelam. Hearing that, I think there should be more Eelam-related movies released. I expect more films to release soon.
Thanks to all the actors, actresses and technicians who acted with me to the publishers and presenters of this film,” he said.
Actor Naveen Chandra said, “I am happy. I have acted in many kinds of films. But this film is very special for me. This film is special not only for me but also for everyone in this team. I also liked the production of this film. Stage artists, short films, new faces, actors from London, Canada… It was a new experience to work with them.
I am playing the role of a captain in this film. Apart from this, I cannot say anything in detail about my character. But if you watch the movie you will all like it. For this film, the director has carefully selected actors from each state for each character – Assam, Mumbai, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu.
The respect given to the actors during the shoot.. was happy. So far I have acted in five films with Stone Bench Studio. It’s like my own film production company. What is special here is that there is equality here. Everyone is obsessed with cinema. They will be interested in creating meaningful work.
Director Karthik Subbaraj will definitely watch my scenes, and then I will act well? Isn’t it? The fear will remain with me. I hope I have acted well.
While movies and web series are busy, producer Karthikeyan Santhanam contacted and explained about the story of the film. I told director Somitharan that I will ask the story. It was only after hearing the story that I wondered about producer Karthikeyan Santhanam’s choice of story. He has chosen the right story. I am proud of this.
Every actor in this film has worked with dedication for the character. Thanks to all of them.
Producer Karthikeyan Santhanam said, “This is our 18th film. A friend of yours speaks well of you while making the sixth film. But you speak English. He advised me to speak it in Tamil. After that I changed myself and am speaking in Tamil. But need to speak in English. Because only then can business be done.
Nimjira is a very special film. A proud film. We will be bravely hanging up our collars for making this film.
I came back here from England in 2012. I was happy there too. I am always happy in life. Karthik Subbaraj became famous in one day by directing ‘Pizza’. After that I met director Somitharan one day along with friends. I have never seen him as a director. Can’t see. He also never saw me as a producer. Can’t see. Because we are good friends.
I didn’t think we would make his film. He didn’t think he would tell us the story either. It’s been a long, long journey. Somitharan has directed a wonderful movie.
Karthik said that he should first choose a story like this and make it into a film. We all worked together for that.