Suneel Kumar Reddy comes out with two thought-provoking films ‘Kaakroch’ and ‘Welcome to Tihar College’
The Hindu
The first one deals with transgenders and the second dwells on the faulty education system, which is driving youngsters to suicide
Director P. Suneel Kumar Reddy, who is known for making movies on contemporary issues, has come out with two more such films – ‘Kaakroch’ and ‘Welcome to Tihar College’ – the first one deals with transgenders and the second dwells on the faulty education system, which is driving youngsters to suicide.
In ‘Welcome to Tihar College’, Mr. Suneel Kumar Reddy likens the corporate junior colleges in Andhra Pradesh to a jail. “While day scholars are literally shut from the outside world from the early hours till late in the evening in rote learning or listening to lectures nearly for 12 hours, except for lunch break, the condition of hostel inmates is even worse,” he tells in a chat with The Hindu.
“No wonder, those who are unable to cope with the extreme stress are falling prey to drugs and other vices, and are sometimes landing in jail. A number of them are ending their lives after failing to get good ranks or living up to the expectations of their parents,” he says.
The film has been shot in Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram. The film is slated for release in theatres in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on October 21.
‘Kaakroch’ is the love story of a transgender. The name of the boy is ‘Kaakroch’, a social recluse. The triangular love story revolves around the transgender and a girl, who fall in love with Kaakroch. “The very mention of a cockroach produces revulsion in most people but the same creepy insect is also called ‘Lakshmi purugu’ after Goddess Lakshmi in some places of North Andhra.
“We have conducted auditions to select the artiste to play the central character (transgender) of our film. This is, perhaps, for the first time that a film is being made from the transgender’s point of view. I am against stereotyping them as beggars, harassing motorists at traffic junctions, or as recovery agents to threaten loan defaulters,” he says.
“There are quite a few transgenders, who have made it to the Civil Services and as Police Officers and a dancer, who is a Padma Bhushan awardee. We shouldn’t sympathise them but have empathy towards them. Once a transgender becomes successful, their family members, who had disowned them due to social stigma, try to make amends with them.
In 2021, five women from Mayithara, four of them MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) workers, found a common ground in their desire to create a sustainable livelihood by growing vegetables. Rajamma M., Mary Varkey, Valsala L., Elisho S., and Praseeda Sumesh, aged between 70 and 39, pooled their savings, rented a piece of land and began their collective vegetable farming journey under the Deepam Krishi group.