Production Talk-'24 Hours of Anger' by TT Dhavamani

A flood of congratulations and several good reviews since its opening, 'Gurushetram' or '24 Hours of Anger' has remained steady at 8th position for 2 weeks in the Singapore box office since its opening. Can't get enough of it? Here's more.... an in-depth chat with the director TT Dhavamani about the film and what's behind it!

Synopsis

Set in contemporary Singapore, Gurushetram - 24 Hours of Anger, is a sinuously provocative, edge-of-your-seat thriller about Prakash who is brought up in a particular s

egment of the working-class Indian society lined with the wreckage of broken families and dreams. Prakash, a 17 year old teenager, losing his family, seeks shelter with his uncle Vinod, the head of a drug ring, with his mentally challenged younger brother. The two teenagers emerge as pivotal accomplices in Vinod’s clandestine drug operations.

Unbeknownst to Vinod, an adamant narcotics police superintendent is hot on their heels after receiving a string of tips offs from an anonymous informant. An earnest social counsellor tries to reach out to Prakash and his brother but meets resistance from those within and outside the law. Both the law enforcers and Vinod want a piece of Prakash and his defenseless sibling in a world fraught with peril, double-crossings and deceits. Prakash has no choice but play his final card to salvage the situation and protect his brother once and for all.

I read that you and Tze Chien have been incubating this story for a long time.

To be exact we devoted three years to the tasks of reading, researching, discussing, writing and then refining! Considering the amount of money one spends on making a movie; the amount of dedicated work one puts into making a movie; and, then the number of lives it touches and transforms … three years I believe is not really a long of time for developing a script!

Why is this story so special to you that you want to tell it in your first feature film?

Well, I strongly felt that in a race towards attaining economic security we have, without our conscious knowledge, left a generation of Singaporeans who have difficulty both competing and completing the race. Unable to cope with the pace and numerous changes they have fallen wayward out of the social context. Inevitably they are part of us and this is a story about them and thus us! What is more important than a story about us in my first feature film work?

"the street scripts the screen" - could you elaborate further?

A line I borrowed from a well know film critic that best sums up my work till far. A reflection of what we see and feel around us that eventually shape your thoughts and become part of the process of your work.

Is this really the first Singapore Tamil feature to be made in a long time, what were your predecessors?

We do not have a history of Singapore-made Tamil films. At least not in the same league as the Malay industry who has seen the golden age during P Ramlee’s era. Yet we do have a rich cultural tradition of story-telling in Singapore. The Tamil theatre has seen a collection of works that will certainly stand as testimony to this. Short story collections and local literary works have a special place in our very own history. They are my predecessors!

I am influenced by P Krishnan, a legendary writer in the Singapore Tamil literary fraternity as much as Kuo Pao Kun, the theatre practice veteran whose many works have deeply influenced in my formative years.

How is it different from other TV drama programmes which you have directed before?

I treat all work, be it theatre plays, television dramas or made for television movies and the feature films the same. Careful consideration is given to the “process”. To me the process (experimentation) which takes us, the practitioners, to the final destination or the final outcome is very important.

The difference may be the bigger platform, the medium, the budget, the bigger pool of crew and actors to manage, and of course the business sense of movie-making … something that I am still figuring out!

How long did you take to make this film from the time pre-production started?

Three months of solid pre-production was very essential for the whole process. The locations needed careful selection; the Art Direction needed careful planning; the rehearsal process needed careful attention as I was concurrently finalising the dialogues; endless discussion with the key personnel be it the Production Designer, Cinematographer, Actors and Production crew took place just to ensure the details that we wanted were worked into the story at every stage! The shoot was planned for 30 days and executed within that planned period. The editing, music, sound design, mixing, grading and final print out were all done within another 40 days.

How did you go about casting?

Casting was a joyful process as far as this feature film was concerned. Many of the actors who acted in the feature film have collaborated with me at various stages of their career. Many of them were from my acting workshops conducted long ago when I was diligently doing theatre and acting workshops for television. Many of them have done various television dramas with me. It was more like a home coming. I knew exactly the actor who is going to play the characters while I was fine tuning the script at the final stages. To a certain extent I wrote the dialogues to the tune of the actor’s breathing pattern … assembling the puzzle one by one!

What were your biggest challenges in making this film?

Film making in itself in Singapore is a big challenge! The lack of physical space for filming is a challenge! Making the budget work for the film is a challenge! Filming live sound at its best in the hustle and bustle of Singapore is a challenge! Convincing people to watch a local work is a challenge! Dealing with the press, critics, and distributors is a challenge! Understanding the concept of film business itself is a challenge! Amidst all these challenges the pure passion of telling a story sincerely and truthfully keeps one going crossing one obstacle after another...

Any interesting anecdotes to share about the production?

Although the film is classified as a Tamil movie, it is truly made by multi-cultural Singaporeans! The cinematographer is a Belgian, the co-writer, gaffer to grip to sound recordist were all Chinese, the sound designer was a Malay, the Director, Musician, Editor a Tamil, Actors boast a combination of all races!

I am very gripped and moved by the film. What kind of impact do you hope this film will have on the Singapore audience and the industry?

Channel News Asia reviewer gave it 4 pop-corn (must watch) and reviewed it as a World Class performance and add that the cinematography can rival any Hollywood Movie! It is gripping and creating sensations among the Singaporean Indians as well. Face book and emails is seeing a lot of good reviews, and the movie is quietly running successfully into its third week at the cinemas (limited screening yet we will reach 100k box office taking soon). I did not have many funds to publicise the movie except through the internet and quietly relying on word of mouth! It is working as the box office takings look good and I am hoping it engages the non-Tamil speaking Singaporeans as well soon because it is really a story about us.

With My Magic, I think a lot more Singaporeans are starting to gain interest into the lives of the Indian community here. But of course, that story was told through the eyes of a Chinese. What kind of other stories about your community do you think need to be told?

There are stories at every corner of Singapore! It has to be told honestly, sincerely, truthfully and creatively (engagingly)! It could be fiction, non-fiction; drama, comedy, thriller and whatever the genre is! The characters could belong to Indian, Chinese or Malay ethnic groups! Whatever it is, it should strike a chord with the audience! It should make them laugh, cry, think and bring them on an unforgettable journey!

These are characteristics of a good story and we should strive to do just that!

What are your views on the film industry here in Singapore?

The film industry here is trying to find its rightful place! The film makers are trying to find their feet here! The industry has not picked up the pace as it should and it requires the support of each and every individual to make it happen! There is no place for complacency nor is there place for healthy experiment. Everything has a price and until the risk takings are reduced sincere practitioners will find it hard to practice their craft!

Give us more insight to your upcoming works.

Film making has taken a toll on me and the work is not yet over till one market his film at the various venues. Currently, I have returned to my day job as a television producer … producing a programme on puppetry and Muppets! Storytelling in a different platform to a different audience!

Check out the official movie website here.

'24 Hours of Anger' is a bumpy angry ride, but it's all worth it

Unknown to many Singaporeans due to lack of publicity, '24 Hours of Anger' opened in selected cinemas on Thursday. It is the second feature funded under the Singapore Film Commission's quarter of a S$1m Feature Film Fund Scheme. There was no gala opening party, no fanfare, just loyal Tamil TV fans of TT Dhavamani's works who turned up in moderate numbers, waiting to watch what is really a landmark film - Singapore's first Tamil film (without the hands of arthouse non-Indian filmmakers who might sensationalise or distort what is real about a minority section of society).

The production notes say this deals with a sub-section of the Indian community - Indian gangsters, it seems. I am thinking excessive drinking, violence, murder and err.... gold chains I mean, for the first film that comes from our Indian community here, it is not doing any good in portraying the life of the Indian community here. In fact, the film 'ghetto-ficates' the community. There are one-room flats, gang fights, men clutching bottles of beer and countless acts of stabbing. But the film does not try to sugar-coat anything as well. It tells the story like it is. It does not try to justify or euphemise the acts and choices the characters make. Yet, through TT Dhavmani's seasoned hands, he has created characters that I care about. He has humanised the misunderstood, the mess and the mayhem that 2 hours of so of gripping drama.

There is a lot going on in the film, risking convolution and confusion. But the film starts by getting straight to the point. A mother is on the death row and the family is desperately trying to get her out. She has 2 young kids who have to deal with imminent loss at a tender age. Yet again, this puts another question mark on the hard and fast system of Capital Punishment in Singapore. And the film makes its point clearly as we know here are 2 kids, Prakash and his mentally challenged younger brother Subra, who are going to grow up hating the law. TT Dhavamani has a penchant for pockets of humour punctuating the entire film, even in the gravest moments. One scene that has been etched in my mind deeply is when the convicted mother, dressed in a respectable looking sari was asked to smile for her funeral shot in her cell. While the mother's execution is a great way to set the issues out, this is marred by the choppy editing and the strange juxtaposition of 'corporate-video-like' music against the scenes. It could have done with tighter scripting and a less linear way of establishing the events.

A simple screen title transports us 8 years down the road. This is where the film really gains traction (and no more funny music). Prakash and Subra are all grown up and living under the care of their gang-leader uncle Vinod. Their dad has somehow disappeared from their lives. The grown-up Prakash is a bag of pent-up angst and rebellion. Inevitably, he has assimilated the ways of the tribe his uncle's created. And their biggest nemesis are the cops who are tenacious in their attempts to uncover the gang's drug possessions. A few police raids later, Vinod suspects there is a mole within the gang and wants the gang to disperse. It is then that it becomes apparent Prakash has an agenda of his own, which is detrimental to the rest of the gang members.

While the film's pacing does not make you feel like you are racing to cover a dozen plot points, there are too many characters that come into the spotlight. This is makes it difficult to navigate your senses around because you sometimes lose track of which sub-plot is important. I guess that is where it resembles a multi-part TV serial. However, rather than being accessories to the plot, I did see how in some small way or another, their little episodes contributed to the overall drift. Some examples I would refer to include the female counsellor, the teenage delinquent she was counselling, the narcotics officer. Interestingly, Prakash's dad is inconsequential to the plot, which points to how fragile the whole family really is.

'The street scripts the screen'. This is what the production notes say. I cannot agree further how true this is. There is something immensely authentic about the way the gang members conduct themselves and the actions they take. It makes you want to suspect if these people were gangster-turned-actors or if the director was an Indian 'Ah Beng' himself. In fact, one Chinese analogy I am tempted to draw is '15' by Royston Tan. Royston once self-proclaimed himself to be an 'Ah Beng' and watching it makes one quite tempted to say it could almost be an attempt to document genuinely 'Beng' antics. I can't say if the actors in '24 Hours' drew any inspiration from possible previous gang-hood. I can't always smell what is being over-expressed or 'too-TV' because I do not understand Tamil. But I can say the director has found a pitch-perfect synergy with his actors and is orchestrating several moments to screen magic. Think Jack Neo and his die-hard team.

While I cannot completely avoid the 'ghetto' labelling of this film, it has delightfully avoided the use of the HDB landscape as a visual base. Save for the prologue, the actions take place in an unkempt bungalow and an abandoned house in Johor. Having the ditch in front of the house also heightens the visual drama. Some touches in art direction also give the film a richer texture like the old-fashioned blue van - strange but still effective. However, I would still grouse about the kiddy-print curtains in what was supposed to be a high society private party!

It certainly helped that as I was watching the film, the points at which the largely Indian audience laughed signalled to me when I should take the scene seriously and when I should just be sitting back appreciating the comedy. These distinctions were not always clear. A poor grasp of humour or a sardonic view of life? There were the punchline comments the narcotics officer threw at the delinquents as they were dragged up the police van one by one. The surreal moment with snow drifting outside the window was punctuated with a shot of the gang boys operating a snow-making machine. A heartfelt moment when the counsellor expressed her concern for Prakash was broken abruptly when he gagged her and pulled her away. And the scene with the gang dispersing immediately after some flippant bargaining with the police was helplessly hilarious! On one hand, many scenes had very shoddy editing in which intense moments were punctuated too quickly with new happenings or simply music. But on the other hand which I veer towards more, it probably is the director's own quirky, irreverent and even subversive view of things and way of making a statement.

I like how the developments in the film, in a lyrical way, go back to where it all came from - their once peaceful house in Johor. Prakash, after disposing the drugs in various ways, escapes with his brother Subra back to Johor, in hope that they could reclaim a bit of their blissful past again. In one particular moment, the two brothers found sanctuary in the tranquility of their home kitchen, relishing in simple but knowingly short-lived pleasures like cooking a simple meal, recreating a sense of home that has disappeared with the loss of their parents. It is short-lived because we know Vinod was on his way to find them in Johor.

What followed this was a rather bumpy and long-winded ending. In the finale, Vinod surpr

ises Prakash with his appearance and there is nothing left to do except to fight with their bare hands (and the occasional weapons they could find). This was a bumpy ride because we are constantly hurled back and forth between the past and the present (which is the duel). Everytime we see the two men flex their muscles and prepare to lunge forward, the flashbacks interrupt, unloading bits of information that complete the narrative jigsaw puzzle. Some of these installments could have been given to us much earlier in the story. Inevitably, it makes the film look like it was running out of time to tell its story.

But structural hiccups in storytelling aside, why do I still care about Prakash or Vinod? They smuggle drugs, they bludgeon, they drag other innocent people in to the game (like Prakash's mum). Yet I am saddened by the shot of their battered bodies floating in the ditch. I feel angry about society, about marginalisation, about the lack of social mobility here in Singapore. As mentioned in the film, society would not open doors so this was the only way. Put in the rashness of a few men and you've got a recipe for disaster. For the 'monster-of-a-story' the film is, it has still succeeded in achieving its aim of bringing to our attention a sub-set of society, crying out to our social consciousness and making us see in between what's black and what's white.

'24 Hours of Anger screens in selected Golden Village cinemas now.

Here is the mind-blowing trailer of the film.