“Let me live”; Actress Sona tears
“No action could be taken even against the person who admitted that he cheated and wrote it”; Actress Sona Vrakthi
“Why are they giving so many interruptions before making the web series ‘Smoke’?”; Actress and director Sona Kattam
Actress Sona Hayden started her acting journey in Tamil cinema with the film ‘Poovellam Un Vasam’ directed by Ezhil, starring Ajith. Sona, who is known as a popular actress in four languages in the last twenty years, is Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. She has now started her direction journey with the web series ‘Smoke’, which is a record of the events that happened in her life.
She has produced this web series under her unique production company Fly High production in partnership with Shortflix OTT and has written the story for it herself.
Sona has now opened up about the harsh and bitter experiences she had while making this web series, the opposition and interference she faced, and the release of this series.
“I was keeping quiet, not wanting to have problems. But as soon as I started a project, they started saying, ‘We will beat you up no matter what you do.’ It started as a biopic, not one person, not two people. A group of people came from nowhere and jumped in. I don’t know why even an actor and producer I know well was so harsh on me. I was so scared when there was an attempted robbery at my house. Even after that, I continue to be attacked. No matter how much I stay quiet, if they beat me up, what will happen if I speak up?
Even then, I will tell my side of the story. I have not taken up this project with any intention of taking revenge. Therefore, keeping in mind the families of the people involved, I do not want to mention their names. I always talk with an open mind and say anything. I don’t know how to keep anything in my mind.
If I had known how to keep money for myself, I would have had assets worth 200 crores by now. I wanted to grow through doing the cinema I know. Why did I help those around me? I want to have people around me for the rest of my life. Even if I didn’t help, it was because I wanted to be supportive.
Even though I made some small mistakes, I wanted to correct them and show everyone how to live a real life. But that was the mistake. I don’t know if I would have been better if I had been fake. But now I am facing difficulties for mistakes I didn’t make. They have hidden the good things I have done. Even now, I don’t want to blame the world. At the same time, I didn’t make any mistakes. If I ask for my reasons and speak without hiding anything, it also turns against me. Can you let me live, or not?
I lost my money through the film ‘Kanimozhi’. I am not ready to blame anyone for that. That was my mistake. But this time I started this project by getting money from an OTT platform. I like direction. I had a childish desire that when I do a film like that, I will also get a good name like that, and it will change my image as a glamorous actress. So even after becoming a director, I decided to make my own story a film.
The teaser of this film that I released initially was also to make it clear that I was going to tell the truth. Although Shortflix is a small OTT platform compared to Netflix, I am indebted to them for their heartfelt support for the rest of my life. But what do I do when I get opposition at every stage saying don’t do this, don’t do that? I was frustrated that I was such a wrong person.
But since no one attacked me directly, a suspicious perspective is unnecessarily formed even towards people I know. At least others have families and children. I am struggling as a single person. I entered the film as a person who had nothing in cinema and grew up and today I have become a director of a film. So far, I have shot for 14 days for this web series. After finishing the first ten days, I begged for six months to shoot the remaining four days.
While shooting a web series, you cannot seek help from Pepsi. But I believed that our people would help.. I begged everyone.. Almost more than ten panchayats came. After that, when the people who came to help said that they had really cheated you, I believed that we would get support. After that, they dragged us again but in the end, it was true that you were cheated,, it was true that he cheated you,, you can’t go to the shoot anymore,, he can’t give you money,, whoever you owe, you have to pay it back.
They said they wanted me to, and they made me sit at home for five months,
Even those around me, unable to cope with this attack, left one by one. At one point, it was only after this robbery attempt at my house that I gathered the courage and approached the Producers’ Council and they voiced their support, saying, “You should go ahead with the shooting.”
A person above him comes to support that bad manager. He also spoke as if he was speaking in my favor twice. After that, I asked him to pay the required money and arrange for the shooting. The account came with the relevant vouchers. I believed it all to be true. But on the fifth day, a worker came to me and asked if he would get his salary today. It was only when I asked him if he would get it today that the manager Suresh told me that I was in financial difficulty and made them believe that he had signed the voucher.
But he made that mistake and came back to me as usual, asking for money. After that, he gave me a handwritten note saying that I had cheated you. But I could not do anything. Well, if you think that if you stay away from these things, there will be no problem, then the problem will continue. So I got up a little bravely and finished the work to some extent. They were a little quiet.
Now the reason I am saying this is that a problem came in 2015 and it was partly right. But now I think that it was wrong to sit and shut up without saying anything until 2024. Please don’t make me open my mouth and say anything. Leave me alone.. Even when I had 200 rupees, I didn’t beg.. But after becoming a director, I did beg.. Do I have to beg if I want to become a director?
In this film, my characters from teenagers to 30 years old will be in four seasons. There will be a jump for each. We will have left some things unsaid. But in the end, we will have given an answer to it. There will be a question in each of these four seasons. The next part will start from one of these questions. There will be a total of eight episodes. Each will be 25 to 30 minutes long.
I also fell in love with someone. I won’t tell you who it is now.. It’s someone everyone knows. But someone no one knows.. My life from 2010-15 is the focus of this first season. But in this web series, I have shown the actors in a way that shows the character of my father and the image of his character. You have to
decode it yourself.
When I started this ‘Smoke’ web series, I planned to tell about ten people without affecting their families. But not even a week after announcing it.. I received opposition from 50 people. That’s when I realized that these 40 of our people were not on the list. When some people said that I have a family and children, I was going to tell my story.. Why are you afraid?. The trailer of this will be released in ten to fifteen days..
I approached almost eight directors to work as an assistant director. But they said that you are good-looking and an attractive woman.. Will I see you? Will I protect you? They asked if they would watch my film work. So I left it. I like everyone’s direction. However, what I like the most is the style of Balu Mahendra and Bharathan.
There is a reason why the name ‘Smoke’ was chosen. The OTT company also liked it a lot. When we approached some actors for this film, they said that we don’t act in blockbuster films.
Watch the film.. you will know.
