Tamil M.A.

Education is traditionally a key element in Tamil Nadu politics, and not for nought: like neighboring Kerala, the state boasts a high level of literacy in comparison with the rest of the nation. Having a disenfranchised private school teacher at the heart of a film therefore cuts deep. Especially when he’s like Tamil M.A.'s Prabhat: a man who wants to give the world a taste of his pain, sorrow and disgust with the way the world works.

Speaking of education: that of Ram, who makes his feature film debut with Tamil M.A., was also an unusual one in as far as for some time he worked as an assistant to Rajkumar Santoshi in the Hindi industry – without speaking the language! But he met his true master back home in Balu Mahendra, one of Tamil cinema’s all-time greats who, as Ram has it, shaped an artist out of an enthusiast. And what an artist!

Also see Resurrection and Taramani.