Gautham Ramachandran: ‘Gargi’ and ‘Sathuranga Vettai’ share the same universe

‘Gargi’ director Gautham Ramachandran discusses the many creative choices in the recent Sai Pallavi-starrer

(Originally published in The Hindu on July 21, 2022)

A brutal, heinous crime ignites the events in Gargi. For major parts, the titular character (played by Sai Pallavi), along with her advocate-friend Indrans (Kaali Venkat), fights to prove the innocence of her father who is held as an accused in a child rape investigation. In a different film, this could have veered into a whodunit thriller drama that reveals the pieces of a puzzle one by one. Even in Gargi, the suspenseful unravelling of the story plays a part, but the film becomes more about ‘whose truth is the truth?’ Director Gautham Ramachandran, who also wrote the script with Hariharan Raju, says, “I would describe it as an emotional drama set against a crime backdrop. In fact, for Gargi, it is like a coming-of-age story. Though its plot seems generic on paper, its form on-screen is unique.”

What also sets Gargi aside from many other films is the empathy that it shines on most of the characters who face the brunt of the crime. Gautham’s liking to tread on the greyness of the characters is visible. “It’s risky but grey is what we all are. A killer won’t be killing all day; they might enjoy a samosa at their favourite stall,” says Gautham.

Painting characters in such intricate strokes, that too in a film that dwells on multiple perspectives, led the writer Gautham to write one of the film’s most tense, arresting scenes: when Sarvanan, the father of the sexual assault victim, appears in front of Gargi’s home with a dagger. There, one could feel the pain of a broken father and at the same time be terrified of an impending violent attack on Gargi. “I wanted the audience to feel Sarvanan’s grief the moment he comes into the frame. But there’s a deeper angle as well,” says the director. “The audience must feel for him not just because of what had happened, but for what might happen to his daughter and him if he proceeds to attack Gargi. And, there was a temptation to have a scene in which everyone’s perspective seems justified,” he adds.

The relationship between Sarvanan, his daughter and Gargi almost has an arc on its own. Having not revealed the identity of the victim for most parts, Gautham chooses to show her face in the end when she meets Gargi and the latter’s sister. Is this scene the offshoot of an undercurrent subtext in the film that speaks of providing reparations as an alternate justice? “Maybe, but I…….

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Read the full interview here: Gautham Ramachandran Interview