While talking about his directorial debut Kudumbasthan, in an earlier conversation with CE, Rajeshwar Kalisamy had revealed that he set out wanting to make an adventure film before finally realising, “What greater adventure than that of a family man’s?” Manikandan, who plays the eponymous kudumbasthan of the film, expands on the answer. “Back in the day, before my father set out for work, I would give a list of things I would need from him, my sister would ask him something, and my mother would have her own requirements for the house.
He would just nod and leave. And when he came back in the evening, he would distribute everything each of us asked for. A lot would have gone through between the time we asked and the time he got us what we wanted. It is an adventure on its own. That is what we tried to capture in this film,” says Manikandan.
From Bama Vijayam to director V Sekhar’s Viralukketha Veekkam and Koodi Vazhnthal Kodi Nanmai, Tamil cinema has a long history of family dramas, with comedy being a predominant factor connecting most of them. On the tendency for family dramas to rely on comedy, Manikandan points at how family dramas portray the relatable, everyday struggle of a commoner, and how comedy is any day an effective tool to convey such struggles.
“When you want the audience to relate with the struggles of the protagonist on screen, you want them to lightheartedly resonate with it because that gives them a sense of catharsis. Such communication between the characters and the audience happens more effectively in a comedy,” he says.
Saanve Megghana, who plays the female lead in the film, adds, “Treating a relatable and sensitive topic in a humorous way will make the audience feel lighter and better about their own situation.” The actor then recounts a life lesson from her father, “He said, whenever you are going through something tough, learn to find the humour in it and laugh. I didn’t get it back then but now I understand that life experience gives you such wisdom,” says Saanve.
