Sasi (director)

Sasi is an Indian film director, screenwriter, working primarily in Tamil cinema based in Chennai. He made his directorial debut with Sollamale in 1998 and followed it up with a series of successful romance films Roja Kootam (2002), Dishyum (2006), Poo (2008). His first action film, 555 Ainthu Ainthu Ainthu,^[1] released in August 2013 to positive reviews.

Career

In January 2007, Sasi shelved the venture and chose to make his next film, Poo (Flower), after being inspired by the romantic short story of Veyilodu Poi written by Thamizh Selvan, noting that the effect that the story had on him was "Mind-blowing" and decided that he had "to take the story to everyone".^[2] He chose to utilise a new technical team for the project, choosing to sign up S. S. Kumar and P. G. Muthiah for the music and cinematography respectively, with the pair both passing a selection interview set up by Sasi. Srikanth was retained and the director worked on toning down the actor's complexion, while Malayalam actress Parvathi Menon was selected to play the lead role in the film, and also went through a similar character acclimatisation procedure.^[2] Upon release in December 2008, the film gained positive reviews with a critic noting "the one man who deserves an ovation here is director Sasi", "handling the story, screenplay, dialogue and direction, he has given a product that will please all true lovers of cinema and he must also be credited with extracting moving performances from the cast."^[3] A reviewer from Rediff.com wrote "as far as screenplays and performances go, Sasi has a winner on his hands. Few rural sagas are this refreshing or poetic."^[4] The film subsequently won accolades at several regional award ceremonies such as the 56th Filmfare Awards South, Vijay Awards and the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, where it won recognition including a special mention in the Best Film category as another for portraying women in good light.^[5] The film was also screened across international film festivals, notably at the Los Angeles Indian Film Festival, and won Sasi the Best Director award in Ahmedabad Film Festival.^[6]

Sasi began work on his next, his first action entertainer, in late 2008 and worked on the script of the film, initially titled Puyal for almost two years.^[7] The director had casually narrated the story to Bharath and the actor, impressed with the narration, approached the producers of the film to cast him in the lead role and Sasi obliged. Since 2010, the actor has expressed how important the film will be to his career and worked out to sport a six pack in the film.^[8] The film titled Ainthu Ainthu Ainthu (555), which also features Mirthika and Erica Fernandes, eventually released after several delays in August 2013 and won critical acclaim. A critic from Behindwoods.com noted "Sasi is a master teller when it comes to narrate a story about love and its finer aspects and there would always be a kind of poignancy in them. 555 is no exception", while another critic noted "The non-linear screenplay is a huge plus in making the film interesting".^[9]

Filmography

Year	Film	Credited as		Language	Notes
		Director	Writer
1998	Sollamale	Y	Y	Tamil
1999	Seenu	Y	Y	Telugu
2002	Roja Kootam	Y	Y	Tamil
2006	Dishyum	Y	Y	Tamil
2008	Poo	Y	Y	Tamil	Best Director (Ahmedabad Film Festival) Nominated - Vijay Award for Best Director
2013	Ainthu Ainthu Ainthu	Y	Y	Tamil
2015	Pichaikkaaran	Y	Y	Tamil	Shooting in Progress

References

External links

• Sasi at the Internet Movie Database