Even though Silicon Valley plays a major role in Movie distribution, we rarely see a worldwide premier come to town. That changes Friday at BIG Cinemas, which is kicking off a release event that includes more than 150 theaters across the globe. The movie, Panithuli, was partly filmed in San Jose, and San Francisco, and heavily leans on local and international talent.
The producers and directors have done a good job keeping the plot details a surprise, but inside sources hint that it begins with a mafia-style murder and wraps up as a romantic comedy. It’s not your average, every-day production.
Executive Producer Narayan Sundararajan answered questions about Panithuli.
The Indian influence on American culture is seen with a very high regard, especially in the Bay Area but there is still a cultural mystery that seems to put a wall between some Americans and their Indian neighbors. Do you think that is true, and if so, how will Panithuli help to unravel that cultural mystery?
While it might be true in other parts of the U.S., I think the cultural mystery seems to be less and that wall seems to be much shorter in the Bay Area. That’s thanks to the international and cosmopolitan nature of the population here, and as you pointed out, the contributions, the influence and the assimilation of the Indian Americans in the Bay Area. Interestingly, Panithuli, with most of its scenes set in the U.S., will actually shed more light on how Indians live in the U.S., their struggles, aspirations etc. to the population back in India. As only the second movie (the first one, Meipporul, was also our production) to be shot mostly in the U.S., it will show the lifestyle, trials and tribulations of Indian Americans living in the U.S.
Explain the basic idea/plot of Panithuli.
Panithuli is a romantic thriller. It has an unusual screenplay with an element of suspense in the end. The breathtaking visuals and the performance of all the artists are its two outstanding aspects. An appropriate tagline would be “Everything is fair in love.”
The star of the film is obviously on his way to major stardom. Can you talk a little about him, his background, and where you see his professional trajectory in the coming years?
Ganesh Venkatraman is an Indian and Tamil film model-turned-actor. He won the Mr. India Gladrags Manhunt Contest (2003). He then went on to do movies and rose to fame following his performances in films such as The Angrez, Abhiyum Naanum, Unnaipol Oruvan and Kandahar acting alongside Indian film industry greats such as Amitabh Bachan, Kamal Hasan, Mohanlal and Prakash Raj. He recently completed shooting for a huge special effects sci-fi movie in the Telugu industry and has signed on many films after that in the different Indian languages such as Hindi, Tamil and Kannada.
Panithuli was filmed in San Jose. Why did you choose this area?
Fantastic locations, supportive infrastructure and great talent pool.
What’s next for the team, will you be filming more feature-length projects in the area?
We certainly hope to continue on this trajectory and make more interesting feature-length projects, and honestly think that there is no better place to do it than San Jose and the Bay Area.
The Panithuli Premier is August 10th at 7:20pm at BIG Cinemas. Admission is $15
.Premiere for Bollywood Movie Filmed in San Jose Arrives Tomorrow
