How did you take it forward? You have had no experience in filmmaking.
With the idea, I went straight to Lalgudi Jayaraman. That is because there is modernity and tremendous sringaram in his music.
When did you think of the sringara rasa as the base of your film?
That was when I spent time with some of the people following the Devadasi tradition. I first met Chidambaram Kamalambal who was about 101 years old then -- that was in 2002. A couple of lines in the film are from what she spoke to me.
Then I met Rama Thilakam in Thanjavur, who in a way was part of the transition from the 1920s to the 1950s. She was around 80 then, and she took me to the temple. I saw the temple through her eyes and the divine passionate relationship she had with the temple.
Finally we went to the sanctum and the old priest welcomed her into the garbha griha where she broke into a song. It was a mystical experience for me. When she stopped, there was complete silence for 30 seconds and I felt that was sringaram, and that was how I arrived at the title.
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