Nikhila Vimal

Dhivya Dhuraiswamy

Kalaiyarasan

Vaazhai (2024)

Twelve Year Old Sivanaindhan Lives Alongside His Mother, Sister and Friend in a Village of Wage Earners Who Work at Plantain Plantations, and Hopelessly Seeks to Live the Merry Life of a Flitting Butterfly. Between Constant Hunger and Trying to Stop His Mother's Tears, He Spends His School Holidays by Lugging Plantains Instead of Playing. Into His Parched Life, a School Teacher Descends Like a Gentle Drizzle and Drenches Him With Her Love. All of a Sudden, His Dreams Are Shattered and Time Pursues Him Relentlessly. With a Wicked Grin, Merciless Fate Ends Up at His Doorstep. In Sivanaindhan's Life, the Plantain is a Green Hued Monster That Regrows at Every Hack. It is a Tree That Bears Its Fruits Out of the Reach of the Hungry.