Sethum Aayiram Pon (2019)

Interesting facts

Sethum Ayiram Pon: Roots is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Anand Ravichandran in his directorial debut. The film stars Srilekha Rajendran, Nivedhithaa Sathish, and Avinash Raghudevan in the lead roles. The film was released directly through online streaming services after showing in select film festivals.

Production

The film is directed by Anand Ravichandran, a former software official in his second project after he had previously directed the short film Kuberanum Irandu Gundargalum. Ravichandran began research on oppari, an ancient way of mourning the dead, for the film. He added that the research took to learn about Ethiopia and other rice-eating cultures including Mexico where death is celebrated, which prompted him to write it as a story.

Oppari is unique. A story telling tool about the deceased person’s life and a part of Tamil literature. It can be sung emotionally and in jest too about the deceased. There is a versatility about oppari and how death can be perceived.

Television actress Srilekha Rajendran and Nivedhithaa Sathish (of Sillu Karupatti fame) play the lead roles. Nivedhithaa revealed that she plays an angry woman who is still trying to figure out her life. Ravichandran stated that "The idea was to draw a parallel between the two women whose ideologies are similar despite belonging to different backgrounds". Real oppari artists were used in the film.

The film was shot in 17 days in Appanur near Paramakudi. Ravichandran added that the weather and the "pin-drop silence" in the location were considered to be "challenging during the shoot", with Nivedhithaa adding that the team had to retake a few scenes when a sound in the background interfered. Since Ravichandran felt that he could not create the ambience of the sound during dubbing, the team preferred to use sync sound technology.

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