The world that writer-director Halitha Shameem creates for us is as interconnected as nature itself. It’s a world where characters and places move from one film to another.
For instance, her first film Poovarasam Pee Pee (2014). A coming-of-age story unlike any other, one scene in the film makes a passing reference to one man’s son Parthi.
In Aelay (2021) it turns into a full-length feature film. We go back to that same fictional town, to the lead character Parthi, as Shameem takes us on a journey that is familiar yet different.
'Often, ideas come to me when I am in the middle of something. Although films are released years apart, I develop the projects simultaneously,' says Shameem.
'I have always gone that extra mile to have something different, musically. Everyone knew Pradeep Kumar can sing beautifully. But it was for Sillu Karuppati that he composed the music.'
'I am a writer first. I think when I was about eight years old, it sort of dawned on me that if I make my stories into films, people will flock into theatres to see,' she says.