Pa Ranjith makes Cannes debut, launches first look of ‘Vettuvam’

The director’s first Hindi film, a drama about the life and times of tribal icon Birsa Munda, is also in the works

On his first visit to the Cannes Film Festival, Pa Ranjith, one of the most exciting filmmakers working in Indian cinema today, launched the first look poster of an upcoming film "Vettuvam" (The Hunted).

The "Sarpatta Parambarai" director, whose films have given voice to rising Dalit assertion in Tamil cinema, will begin filming "Vettuvam" later this year. The film will be delivered for release in 2023.

The writer-director’s calendar, which includes his long-awaited Hindi-language Birsa Munda biopic, is full for the next couple of years.

“It is not easy,” says Ranjith, “to consistently articulate a specific social consciousness in mainstream cinema but mainstream cinema, thanks to the reach and appeal it has, is the best vehicle that there can be for training the spotlight on stories of communities that have faced exploitation and marginalization for centuries.”

"Vettuvam" will tell the story of a notorious gangster, Cholan, a modern-day Robin Hood, who establishes his control over the Ponni region of Tamil Nadu. As he fights to protect his people, he makes many enemies but also legions of supporters who swear by him. When his rivals realise that Cholan is too powerful for them, they harness the power of the state in an attempt to bring him down.

“The film is the story of an ordinary daily wage labourer’s rise to a position of power,” says Ranjith, indicating that "Vettuvam" will be another essential addition to a body of work that includes two Rajinikanth starrers "Kabali" and "Kaala", besides the director’s first two films, the romantic comedy "Attakathi" (2012) and the political action drama "Madras" (2014).

“The deeper question that 'Vettuvam' will address hinges on power and on how historically those that wield power perpetuate a sense of inferiority and push people to the margins,” says Ranjith.