03/05/2026

theSunday Special XII ON SUNDAY MAY 3, 2026

Fresh lens on Indian diasporic experience Naadodi Community Screenings opens spaces where creative filmmakers let ideas, emotions and perspectives flow freely BY SUBHADRA DEVAN newsdesk@thesundaily.com

I T'S a first for Malaysia with the two-day Naadodi Community Screenings, a small diaspora-focused offering with 16 films and shorties for the Kuala Lumpur Festival. “ Naadodi ” in Tamil means wanderer. “The idea for a Tamil diaspora-focused film platform in Kuala Lumpur grew organically from the work of our (Indian) community at Padai Film Society,” said filmmaker and the festival director Shanjhey Kumar Perumal, or Sun-J, as he is better known. “The Padai Film Society, which I initiated around 2018 with a small group of like-minded filmmakers, has always had two core aims – to develop a distinct Malaysian Tamil cinematic identity, and to cultivate a deeper appreciation of cinema as an art form within the local Tamil community. Since 2019, the Padai Film Community has organised screenings, masterclasses and panel discussions to cultivate Tamil film talent. Naadodi marks the next step in this journey, envisioned as a biannual event in the years to come. Energy forming around films For the upcoming screenings at the KL Festival, Ananth Subramaniam, Gogularaajan Rajendran and Lena Srinivasan will lead its management and curation while members of the Padai Film Community will be helping as volunteers. “The roots, however, go further back. In the late 2000s, I curated a Tamil short film programme under Kelab Seni Filem Kuala Lumpur, so the intention to create space for these voices has been evolving over time,” said the Perak-born native who made a lasting cinematic impression with Jagat in 2015. The feature film, screened in local cinemas for eight weeks, and on Netflix for about three years, made history as the first non-Malay language film in 28 years to be awarded best film at the 28th Malaysian Film Festival in 2016. Sun-J won the Best New Director award at the same event. Jagat , set in the 1990s, revolves around the challenges of the Malaysian Tamil community through the life of teenager Appoy. The 46-year-old writer and director has gone on to screen two more films in the Jagat Multiverse – Macai (2025) and Blues (2024). In

Blues , Appoy is offered as an academically inclined youth who eventually becomes a filmmaker, using cinema as a means to explore questions of identity, love and artistic truth. In Macai , Appoy follows a darker path, with drugs and violence. Sun-J has been making documentaries, short films, musicals and children's programmes for over two decades. But his short film Thaipoosam, showcased at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2007, propelled him to a bigger stage. Holding a free film festival within the larger and diverse KL Festival may lose some of its impact. But for Sun-J, film festivals are not just about the films but “the energy that forms around them”. “They create rare spaces where creative individuals come together with openness, allowing ideas, emotions and perspectives to flow freely. “There’s something powerful about being immersed in that collective creative spirit. It goes beyond watching films, it’s about feeling part of a larger artistic movement.” Spectrum of works beyond ‘Kollywood’ The Naadodi Community Screenings, taking place in the last week of May at GMBB mall in the heart of KL, will showcase offerings from Canada, France, Denmark, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Guyana, India and Malaysia. These films explore the lived experiences of Tamils beyond the motherland. “Globally, there are many Indian film festivals across Europe, the US and Australia, but those specifically focused on the Tamil diaspora remain rare,” said Sun-J. “A few examples include the Toronto Tamil Film Festival and the Norway Tamil Film Festival. In Asia, there hasn’t been a dedicated platform of this nature. “Tamil cinema is often narrowly associated with mainstream Kollywood, but beyond that, there is a wide spectrum of filmmakers across the diaspora creating deeply personal, alternative and sometimes radical work. These films often struggle to find visibility within their own local ecosystems.

“What we aim to do with the Naadodi event is bring these voices together under one roof,not just to showcase them, but also to spark dialogue. It’s about exploring how Tamil communities around the world negotiate identity, displacement and belonging through cinema.” He said each work represents a distinct geography, tone and perspective within the Tamil diaspora. “I believe audiences will discover their own favourites through that experience.” The films set to be screened include Simple Manusan (Malaysia, 2025, directed by Shobaan and Haran Kaveri), Little Jaffna (France, 2024, directed by Lawrence Valin), Hail Mother Kali (Guyana, 1988, directed by Stephanos Stephanides) and Nasir (India, 2020, directed by Arun Karthik). The screenings come with pre-recorded interviews with the filmmakers. Chennai-based editor G.K. Rao said the Tamil diaspora is well known from historical and more recent times, through south and southeast Asia, especially Malaysia and Singapore. “They number nearly three million in the two countries. The most recent wave is the flight of Sri Lankan Tamils from their homes in the north to various parts of the west. Norway, for instance, has over 10,000 of them, mostly from Jaffna peninsula,” he said. Dialogue with international audiences “In the old days, most of the records would have been of the written kind. Filmmaking was expensive and needed elaborate preparation. But the advent of the internet, and the phone camera, has made many things, hitherto unthinkable, now common,” Rao said. “It has democratised filmmaking in a way that was impossible until now. Seven films seems a small number from a diaspora that numbers several million across the world, but this is a start, so maybe we can expect more in the next phase. “Certainly, they should have much to say, about their long parting from the motherland, the grief of displacement and isolation, the effort to craft a new identity, in short, the world of the migrant, something hard to understand for the homebound.” Sun-J added: “Being part of the larger Kuala Lumpur Festival context is a very intentional choice for us at the Padai Film Society. “At present, much of the Tamil cultural landscape here remains heavily centred on mainstream Kollywood, not just in entertainment, but also in how audiences engage with art, ideas, politics, spiritual and social narratives. “By situating this programme within a broader KL Festival environment, we are opening that conversation up, placing Tamil diaspora cinema in dialogue with Malaysian and international audiences. “While our films are rooted in Tamil language and culture, the platform itself is open and inclusive. This shared space allows different communities to intersect, exchange and experience a common creative energy. “Ultimately, being part of a larger festival ecosystem helps us move closer to our goal: expanding perspectives, shaping taste and contributing to a more inclusive cinematic culture.” The Naadodi Community Screenings, running on May 30 and 31, is organised by KL Festival. Registration is required to attend. Visit cloudjoi.com/shows/5437- naadodi -film festival

Nasir is an Indo-Dutch co-production directed by Arun Karthick.

Little Jaffna is a French crime film co-written and directed by Lawrence Valin.

“ Each work

represents a distinct geography, tone and perspective within the Tamil diaspora.”

House of My Fathers , a Sri Lankan thriller written and directed by Suba Sivakumaran.

Sun-J hopes to showcase voices of the diaspora under one roof and spark dialogue.