Yennanga Sir Unga Sattam, the upcoming Tamil feature film, is a political satire which touches on the topic of how people from all caste backgrounds can become temple priests, director Prabhu Jeyaram told Silverscreen India.
Written and directed by the debutant filmmaker, the film is backed by Sudhan Sundaram and G Jayaram under the Passion Studios banner.
The makers of the film have released three posters on social media over the course of the week, starting on Monday. All three posters depict satirical scenes on the caste system.
Speaking to Silverscreen India, Prabhu said, “We have symbolically indicated the stand of our film by using the line, ‘No caste, no religion,’ in the first-look poster. Yennanga Sir Unga Sattam is the story of a boy from an oppressed caste who wants to become a priest.”
Interestingly, the film comes at the time when the Tamil Nadu Government led by Chief Minister MK Stalin has appointed as many as 24 people from various community backgrounds as temple priests.
“While they have implemented it now, this film’s story is based on an earlier true incident,” said the director.
Prabhu added that he came across an article published in a newspaper about a person named Marichamy who was trying to become a priest. “About three years ago, I went and met him. After that, I decided to make a film about his experiences. However, his story has been dramatised and fictionalised for the film.”
“We have adopted a format called ‘Duplex Movie’, where the first half and second half of the film will have different storylines that will join towards the end. It is similar to K Balachander’s Oru Veedu Iru Vaasal (1990),” said Prabhu, adding that the title is inspired from a song in Raju Murugan’s Joker.
Actor RS Karthik, who has previously appeared in Peechankai (2017), plays the lead role, while Soundarya, who has appeared in the TV show Super Singer, and Ayra of Sagaa fame, essay the female lead roles.
The film went on floors in 2019 and was wrapped up just before the Covid-19 lockdown was imposed in March 2020. It was shot by cinematographer Arunkrishna Radhakrishnan in Kumbakonam and in areas surrounding the airport in Chennai.
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The film’s music is composed by Guna Balasubramanian. Speaking to Silverscreen India, the composer said, “Prabhu and I are long-time friends and luckily, we got to work together on this project. Music is very crucial for the film. It is a fresh album with a variety of songs. There are five songs in the film and we have tried to portray different emotions through various genres.”
The post-production is complete and Yennanga Sir Unga Sattam, which runs for two hours and 10 minutes, has been certified ‘U/A’.
The director said the team is looking to release the film by the end of the year. “Talks are still on about it. Personally, I am okay with either mode of release – OTT or theatres,” he added.