Not a professionally trained person and unperturbed by the struggles and travails in his life, documentary maker Dinakaran Jai has learnt and refined his skills on his own
PRODUCER'S TAKE
This dusky young man's sunny smile is quite infectious. Even after two hours of gruelling photo shoot in open fields with the sun beating down, he retains his cheerfulness.
There is absolutely no trace of fatigue much like his never-say-die attitude towards his work. In less than five years he has churned out 40 documentaries. And he is just 29, all set to tie the nuptial knot on April 18.
An opportunity to watch a series of documentaries on Indian freedom fighters, titled ‘Kaalam', brought me closer to docu-maker Dinakaran Jai.
“I wanted to document the chronicles of those who laid their lives for the country's freedom for the benefit of the future generation. I am also focussing on recording the richness of our culture and tradition in my next endeavour,” the no-nonsense filmmaker kickstarts his conversation with me.
Self learnt
Not a professionally trained person and unperturbed by the struggles and travails in his life, Dinakaran has learnt and refined his skills on his own.
“Succeeding in this field without any proper professional training takes considerable amount of time. What matters the most is how interested you are in your chosen field. The thirst for knowledge propels your further and passion becomes the driving force behind any successful venture. Without going to any film institute, people like Satyajit Ray made an impact in the industry. Such people are self-learnt. I follow them. I am also fortunate in having a Godfather in businessman C. Deenathayalapandian. He unflinchingly supports all my endeavours and has enabled me to scale greater heights,” he shares.
Focus on arts
Born in a not-so-affluent family Dinakaran had his job cut out from the beginning. It was in his genes to focus on arts as his father Lakshmana Thevar, a member of Netaji Bose's Indian National Army, was also a renowned stage artist and an integral part of Sankaradas Swamigal theatre group.
It took Dinakaran some time to pursue his dormant trait. Aimless wandering after graduation in pursuit of a suitable career option enriched his understanding of life.
“I learnt a lot during this period. I even took to spirituality and became a disciple to a sage and roamed around in the Kodaikanal hills with him. Realisation came only when the sage pointed out that it was not my cup of tea and asked me to leave,” he recalls.
His wish
His long time wish to become a journalist came true when he soon after started writing short stories and articles for literary journals and magazines. This helped him whet his writing skills. A meeting with film director Mahendran for an interview drew him to films.
“It was a revelation of sorts. He changed my focus and ignited interest in filmmaking. During the same time I was reading literary works of La.Sa. Ramamirtham, Mouni, Jayakanthan and Jayamohan for an article titled ‘Desiyathin Tharkolai'. While collecting details, I stumbled upon a book, ‘Military Reminiscences' by British Military Commander James Wells. It dwelt on Indian Freedom Struggle. I happened to read impressive history about Maruthu brothers, Kings of Sivaganga, which raised several questions in me,” he recounts.
A chance meeting with Mr. Deenathayalapandian changed his course of life as it could not have come at a better time. Just when he was contemplating to film the history of Maruthu brothers, like-minded Mr. Deenathayalapandian lent his unconditional financial support for Jai's venture.
“I learnt acting theory from reading Constantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski's writings and developed an interest in world cinema. I am a keen follower of Akira Kurosawa's movies. I still follow the making style of Ritwik Ghatak and consider him as my ‘manaseega' guru,” he admits.
His documentaries
Dinakaran's first project was ‘Maruthiruvar' in 2005. The 42-minute documentary, produced by Jegamathi Kalaikoodam, took six months.
Two years of intense research culminated in ‘Rehai'. The 43-minute critically acclaimed documentary discussed the plight of those branded as criminal tribes by the British Government. It was screened in Moscow and Hyderabad international film festivals.
Buoyed up by the acknowledgement and also taking a lead from his maiden venture, Dinakaran Jai embarked on the mega project of ‘Kaalam', wherein he talks about personalities and public contributions to Indian Freedom Movement. It is a collection of documentaries under 38 titles.
“It was truly a rewarding experience for me. I spent more than two and a half years exclusively on this project. Each title runs for about 30 minutes,” he says.
At present he is working on his next venture tentatively named “Othigai”.
“Our ancestors talk about 64 art forms. It is an exploration to ascertain the veracity behind this claim,” he informs.
His inquisitiveness has fetched him a berth in the short-term film appreciation course in Pune. He has delivered guest lectures on film language and script writing for the students of Journalism and Mass Communication of the Madurai Kamaraj University.
He is also working on a book titled “Kaatchi Mozhiyum Thiraikathai Ulaviyalum”.
“Lack of records on historical events has been the talking point for long. Our main objective is an attempt towards developing authentic documentary evidence,” he asserts.
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