“KAVAN GOT MAJORITY VOTES”

Last evening, KV Anand-Vijay Sethupathi project got named as Kavan, a chaste Tamil word which means catapult. We got in touch with Kabilan Vairamuthu who is involved in the project as a co-writer of the story, screenplay and dialogues along with director KV Anand and SuBa. He has also written the lyrics of two songs in the film. Kavan is Kabilan’s maiden project as a screen writer. He elaborates:

How did this title happen?

We arrived at the title a month ago. We have been contemplating on a few names. KV sir is always keen to have a Tamil word as a title, which is generally not in use, like Anegan, Ayan or Ko. But he also did not want to make this as a habit. Discussions led us to Kavan which was apt for the subject. We also had a small internal poll and Kavan got the majority of the votes.  

As regards Tamil as a language, one school says, there should not be a mix of words from another language and it should remain unadulterated. Another school says, only if there is a right mix, will the language evolve. What are your thoughts?

I don’t see Tamil as a language. I see it as an embodiment of our culture and tradition. There are many languages in the world and not all of them have this unique trait. They just remain a language and do not carry a tradition or value. If we are looking at Tamil as just a language, we are insulting it. When you check out Siddhar paadalgal or Thirukkural, we have everything pertaining to life in there. These works transcend time.

When we have new Tamil words in a popular medium like cinema, it is like a window or an opportunity through which we enter the sea of the language Tamil. I am sure, many youngsters would have accessed Tamil dictionary last evening or googled after the announcement of this word. In my opinion, such moves, especially in a mainstream commercial project, will make at least 1% of the audience to check out and get to know more.

Kavan is all set to release soon. Wishing the team the best!

Jyothsna Bhavanishankar

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