Cinema Paradiso: A Village Of Viral Movie Stars In Tamil Nadu

It takes a village to raise a child, goes the popular African proverb. In the digital era, one could adapt that to “It takes a village to raise a YouTube channel”, going by residents of Palamarneri village in Tamil Nadu.

The panchayat, located along the Kaveri river, about halfway between Tiruchirappalli and Tha­­njavur is a busy place these days, with every resident, from school-going children to grandmoms, carrying out designated tasks to run the­ir village themed channel, officially called Pal­­a­ma­arneri Panjayatu, but popular in the district as Cinema Village. This is where they sho­wcase their tale­nts, in dancing as well as farming.

“We can’t afford to hire famous personalities from tinsel town. All we do is make people from our village learn the skills needed for making videos, and, in the process, teach them to work hard and find satisfaction in it. That is why most of our viewers are in foreign countries,” says Kalaiyarasan, the founder of the YouTube channel.

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A few minutes from Palamarneri panch­a­yat is the Grand Anicut Kallanai (canal), commissioned by the early Chola king Karikala Cholan in 150 AD, which features prominently in the videos of Cinema Village, especially in the choreographed sequences of Tamil folk songs from the 1980s that first captured the attention of netizens, to whom, these videos, with a background of emerald paddy, banana plantations, flying cranes and flowing water, recreated what is popularly known as the Golden Era of Tamil cinema, when most Tamil films had similar pastoral settings.  

Kalaiyarasan was born and raised in Pala­m­arneri by parents who were agricultural labourers. When he decided to start his You­Tube channel, he would cycle 7 km to Puthalur every day, from where he travelled by train for an hour to Trichy to learn editing. “I started my YouTube channel when smartphones and inte­r­net were less accessible to people. When I sta­r­ted making these videos, no one helped me. So, dealing with the initial costs was difficult,” he says.

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Despite all the odds, Kalaiyarasan’s unique editing and cinematography style, unencumbered by canonical aesthetics, along with the quaint subject matters, caught the fancy of his viewers. Skills he learnt at the videography course, and later honed with his experiments, have now been disseminated among the villagers. As his channel gained popularity on social media, people from the neighbouring villages started approaching him for tutorials.

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The YouTube channel, which has around 5 lakh subscribers and has reached 13 crore viewers till date, fetches a steady income, and has diversified from videos recreating film songs to producing original songs, which talk about mundane day life in his village—love, lust, betrayal, lost love, farming woes, etc. Meanwhile Kalaiyarasan, who is the videographer and editor, has now progressed to become songwriter and producer of his own videos. One of his songs, on the theme of unrequited love, has 1.5 crore views. Not a mean achievement in this age of fickle attention spans.

“People like our videos of folk songs because of their originality and natural environment. These were once the sole entertainment of the rural working class. I think it is necessary to adapt these folk arts in modern mediums. Tha­n­javur is full of marvellous untutored folk arti­sts and singers,” says Kalaiyarasan, expressing his desire to expand his footprint while keeping the production low cost and free.

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He says, “I started my own production to uph­old the latent talent in each of us. Why should we travel to Chennai and approach satellite cha­nnels for that, if we get the technical support here?”

Jebamalai Mary, the village matriarch, says, “This channel has made a huge impact on us. Whenever there is a shoot, the village celebr­ates like it is a festival. Just imagine: had there been no Kalaiyarasan, we wouldn’t have known that our children can sing and dance just like film stars. He is God’s gift to our village, and everyone should make use of this venture to grow further.”

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On the day of a shoot, the entire village buzzes with activity. Children and women help each other to make up and dress in costumes they have made themselves, while the elderly pack food for the outdoor jaunt, which turns into a picnic spot in no time.

“I have always been camera shy. But since no one came forward to act in a particular scene, I enacted the role of grandmother to my own grandson, Alwin, after Kalaiyarasan helped me get rid of my fears in front of the camera by enacting the scenes for me. I won’t forget that day ever,” says Emalda Mary.  

Her grandson Alwin, who studies in Class III in Thirukattupalli Government School, says his aim in life is to choreograph dance steps and make gospel videos. Palamarneri’s plucky star child actor recalls how his friends encouraged him to dance better when he forgot some steps, and how they helped him hide a scar on his nose with makeup.

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Despite all the excitement in their lives, the village youth are unhappy that they can’t take part in video productions all the time because of the harsh reality of their lives. “Most people in our village don’t hold any land. They either work as agricultural labourers or go to cities for work. But all they say they have in their minds is to be part of the next shoot,” says Kalaiyara­san.  

Bala, 16, who does comic roles and mimics fam­ous Tamil comedian Senthil, is one of the prime reasons for the channel’s success. Today, he is working in a brick kiln. Says Bala, “I stop­ped studying after Class X board exams. During the Covid lockdown, we had to borrow money at high interest. I have to help my family.” He pauses for a while and adds, “But my mind is set on acting. So on sad days, I recall happy memories of my acting stint. Once I have sol­ved our family’s immediate crisis, I intend to return to acting.”

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Bommi, a second year B.Com student, is popular among folk artists in the Thanjavur belt for a song written by Kalaiyarasan, about a woman’s desire for her fiancé, which has rec­eived 10 lakh views. She says her mom has stopped her from participating in any shoots till she finishes her studies. “I have not trained in music till now. Singing came naturally to me, so I hummed along whenever I heard villagers sing while working in the paddy fields. I was surprised when my song drew huge appreciation among musicians,” says Bommi, who hoped to persuade her mother to allow her to study music in Trichy Music College afterwards. Despite her mother’s strictures, the entire village is convinced this is what she should do.  

“Filmstars Murali and Vijayakanth are my inspirations. They are dark-­skinned, yet liked by people for their acting. I’m not bothered by popular definiti­ons of beauty. All I want is to master acting ski­lls,” says the village “hero” Sathish, recalling a vid­eo in which he danced with a pair of transgenders to a film song, whi­ch was a huge hit. He adds, “Only because of Kal­­aiyarasan’s help and encouragement of our villagers have I bec­­­ome what I’m now. Eve­ry­one in Than­j­a­vur recognises me as the hero of Pala­m­a­r­neri.”

(This appeared in the print edition as "Cinema Paradiso")

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S.R. Pearson Lenekar Is a Tamil Nadu-based journalist and “visual storyteller”