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A shocking news to read this morning - Director Shridhar - most successful classy director in thamizh cinema whose movies did well uniformly well in all languages passed away at the age of 80 yesterday.

He was the first director to introduce feminism in thamizh cinema.

He was the first director to bring modernist visions of movie making as far as thamizh cinema is concerned, choosing silent pauses and making his characters speak softly and make everlasting impression.

He was the first director to make a movie on love failure of a guy in a decent un-misogynist way.

He was the first director to shoot a full length comedy movie in colour and that too in a riotous manner (Kadhalikka Neramillai, Pyar Kiye jaa)

His movies and its songs still remain the structural backbone on which quality movies and songs are compared against. His screenplays for Nenjil or aalayam …

K.Balachander did it once!

K.Vishwanath did it twice!!

And now, after 18 long years, like the exiled Pandavas who won their kingdom back, the Telugu moviedom regained its pride, thanks to this one man who dared to hope… K.Sathyanarayana or Satish Kasetty as he’s better known.

Satish’s debut movie Hope has been adjudged the Best Feature Film on Social issues by the 54th National Awards Jury — Satish received his first National Award on 2nd September from the President of India.

A real life incident conveyed by his daughter, a student, inspired him so much that the passionate movie maker lurking inside him wanted to jump out and make a feature about it right away. He however worked on the subject for another year and a half: 18 long months.

Unwaveringly confident and totally committed, Satish, if asked during the course of …

It was October 2003 when audiences in Thamizhnadu (Tamil Nadu for uninitiated) were swept away by cinematic brilliance of Pithamagan. Personally it was one movie that made me realize that movies need not be all beginnings, middle and endings, not to say that this movie broke any rules of cinematic grammar. There is more to a movie than scripts and lightings. There is more to a movie than locations and sets. A movie can tell more than what its scripts and dialogues on paper. Pithamagan to me is one movie which manages to elevate itself overcoming its shortcomings and the reasons are not just the usual ‘reasons’ like great acting and fabulous cinematography. It is these reasons that I have always wanted to write about and ‘recount’ as a part of my cinema learning experience.

1. Character is the king:

The Story itself is just an excuse for the audience …