Over 10,000 people from the Tamil film industry are set to receive support through the nine-film anthology Navarasa, an initiative conceived by directors Mani Ratnam and Jayendra Panchapakesan.
The anthology of short films for Netflix was conceived as a way to raise funds to support members of the cinema industry who had been affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Several directors, actors and technicians came forward to offer their services pro-bono to work on the ambitious project. The aim was to unite the creative community of Tamil cinema and send a strong message of solidarity and resilience.
Also Read: Get ‘First Day First Show’, our weekly newsletter from the world of cinema, in your inbox. You can subscribe for free here
“The relief and support from the film will reach over 10,000 deserving beneficiaries across the industry, starting from February 2021 for up to six months. To effectively identify and reach the beneficiaries and their families, we turned to director R.K. Selvamani, president of the Film Employees Federation of South India [FEFSI],” Mr. Mani Ratnam and Mr. Jayendra said. “We hope this relief will enable the industry to come back stronger and continue creating stellar work loved by audiences everywhere,” they added.
They have also partnered with Bhoomika Trust, which has over two decades of experience in disaster relief, to deliver the monthly relief to the workers and their families.
Actor Arvind Swami, Bejoy Nambiar, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Karthik Subbaraj, Karthick Naren, K.V. Anand, Ponram, Rathindran Prasad and Halitha Shameem will be directing the nine short films.