For local music composer Saran Z, directing his first film was a dream come true, but he certainly was not expecting what came about after its completion.
Not only was “Ennaval” successfully submitted to the Toronto International Tamil Film Festival, it also wowed audiences and critics and won the Best Crime Thriller Feature Film (Jury Award). Quite the achievement, and a promising sign of things to come from the local Tamil film industry.
Speaking at his upcoming film studio, Saran tells FMT he started off as a music producer as he had “a lot of passion for music”, with a flair for composition. He also directed his own music videos, which inspired the idea of working on a feature film.
The self-taught composer is a self-professed cinephile. “I loved Peter Jackson’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ movies! I probably watched them, like, 19 times in the theatre when I was in Form 3.”
Transitioning from composing to directing is what Saran calls a “level-up” for himself, and while a music video is different from a feature, “the base of the art – the storytelling – is the same”.
Asked what he considers a good movie, Saran says it has to be engaging and “must be able to touch people emotionally” – elements evident in “Ennaval”, a romance-thriller that focuses on relationships and the repercussions born out of a lack of trust.
“Even though two people can love each other, when they don’t have trust or understanding between them, there are consequences,” he explains.
While the characters and events in his movie are fictitious, they are based on people he has met and his own personal experiences. And although he aspires to direct a large-scale fantasy flick in the future, he was content with playing it safe and working on something down-to-earth like “Ennaval” for his directorial debut.
The movie took about two years to complete, with a small production team and using a pocket camera. The experience was nerve-wracking, his lack of technical know-how potentially an impediment, but he says it was an invaluable learning process.
“The nature of the story meant production could be kept simple,” he adds.
The first half of the film was initially done on a budget of RM10,000, a fraction of what it would usually cost to produce. But, after watching an early cut, the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas) gave him its blessings in the form of RM520,000 to complete the movie.
“One of the deputies said to me, ‘Are you sure you made this film on RM10,000? We have given RM5 million to other filmmakers and their work wasn’t up to par as yours’,” he recalls.
Then the film was accepted into the Toronto International Tamil Film Festival, which surprised him. “I didn’t expect it since it was my first film – and it’s not an art film, it’s commercial,” he says. On top of which, “Ennaval” would be competing with high-budget movies from India.
“I was shocked, I tell you!” he says about receiving news of his win. “This was the first festival we participated in and this happened!”
He believes the final twist was why critics fell in love with his movie. “Most of the audience didn’t expect the ending,” he teases.
But perhaps the clincher was that Malaysian films offer a unique perspective to Indian audiences, despite sharing a common language.
Saran is particularly grateful that back home, language barriers have proven to be a non-issue as Malay cinemagoers have thrown their support behind “Ennaval” wholeheartedly.
And with this success under his belt, he is looking to achieve greater things, with the completion of his studio in Bukit Jalil well underway.
He remains positive about the future of Malaysian films, saying, “We have improved so much over the years. With the cost of technology going down, more people have the means for storytelling.”
As for aspiring filmmakers, Saran advises, “You have to be willing to do anything and learn everything. Only when you have the basics down can you take the final step of directing.”