'Nungambakkam' movie set to release after long struggle

Helming a film based on the Nungambakkam murder incident, has turned out to be quite an ordeal for SD Ramesh Selvan. No stranger to directing films based on true events, like the Dharmapuri bus horror incident in Kalavaram, the director says he was extra careful to ensure that the facts were accurate in this case too.

And yet, he was caught in a legal battle and a protracted struggle with the censor board, before finally being able to come up with a release date for his film, Nungambakkam.

Selvan is grateful for all the support he received on social media through this whole process. “That made me determined to get the film out, come what may,” he says, adding that a team of cyber-crime officials viewed the content and gave the green signal.

“After that, there was no problem with the censors. We received a U/A certificate, which is reasonable given the subject and the treatment.”

The film has been shot in and around the neighbourhood where the gruesome murder took place, and Selvan has strong feelings about how the investigation was handled. “It’s appalling that the victim was hacked to death on a busy morning at the railway station and lay unattended for well over three hours. It speaks to the callous attitude of the police force. They tried to pass it on to the railway police when the victim needed urgent medical attention. More than the murder itself, it was the attitude of the police that I found shocking.”

However, the director says his film acknowledges the heroic efforts of the cop entrusted with finding the murderer (played by Ajmal). “The story is in fact narrated from the perspective of this investigating officer,” he says, adding that he started penning the script before the accused was nabbed.

“I gathered the facts from the near and dear ones of both the victim and the accused, as well as from the police officials who investigated the proceedings. And I believe my film will reveal some hitherto undisclosed facts about the case.”