Pushkar–Gayathri

Pushkar & Gayatri
Nationality Indian
Education Master of Fine Arts in Film Making
Alma mater

Under-Grad: Visual Communication from Loyola College, Chennai Gayatri Post-Grad.: Northwestern University, Chicago

Pushkar Post-Grad.: University of New Orleans
Occupation Directors & Screenplay writers
Home town Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Pushkar and Gayatri are a husband and wife filmmaker duo from India. They are the only married couple directors in Asia and are a part of a small community worldwide. Their films are noted for their unique style and technical finesse.

Probably most famous for their 2017 film, Vikram Vedha, the couple has been in the industry since 2007. They have, till date, written and directed three feature Tamil movies - Oram Po, Va- Quarter Cutting and Vikram Vedha. The first two movies earned them a niche cult fan-club both in India and abroad while their third movie has received strong critical reviews.

Career

Oram Po

This was the couple’s debut feature movie in Tamil. It released in the year 2007.

The movie centres on the sub-culture of auto racing in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Chandru (Arya), the protagonist is an ace auto racer, earning his bread as an auto-rickshaw driver by the day. His friend, Bigilu (Lal), is an expert mechanic at customizing autos to run at the dream speed of 130 km/h. Son of Gun (John Vijay) is the chief of a rival group who wants to outsmart the duo. Chandru's life begins to unravel after he loses a race due to a distraction.

Va - Quarter Cutting

Sunderrajan aka Sura (Shiva) comes to Chennai from Coimbatore on his way to Saudi Arabia. He is received by Marthandam (S. P. B. Charan), a veterinary doctor, who is going to marry his sister soon.

After the travel agent informs Sura that he cannot taste liquor or women in Saudi, he, along with Marthandam, go to a wine shop to have the last gulp. It’s a dry day thanks to elections. Though disappointed, Sura is determined to taste the ‘quarter’ and starts his journey to various places in Chennai where he is told that liquor would be available. He goes to a politico who supplies wine for votes, a star hotel, an Anglo-Indian group of youngsters, a fish market, a gambling den, a kulfi shop and a brothel house among other places, all in search of a ‘quarter’.

During his trip, he meets Saraswathi aka Saro (Lekha Washington) who attempts suicide after her parents scold her and King-Prince, a father-son duo (both roles played by John Vijay), who run a gambling centre. How Sura, in the company of Marthandam and Saro, succeeds in his mission and leaves for Saudi Arabia forms the remaining story.

Vikram Vedha

Vikram Vedha stars Madhavan and Vijay Sethupathi in the lead roles. The story which oscillates between a cop and villain attempts to show the lines between good and evil. The film is inspired by the folk tale of Vikramaditya. The main characters are touted to be derived from the tale. [2]

Cast & Crew

The couple is known to be very picky about the technicians they work with. They make their choice based on their personal judgement of the technician’s skills rather than based on their past success. They have worked both with acclaimed technicians like P.S. Vinod, Nirav Shah, Antony, Kalyan and with relatively new-comers like G.V. Prakash (while Oram Po was made), C.S. Sam, Kevin, Manikandan.

Films

Year Film Role Actors Language
2007Oram PoWriters & DirectorsArya, Lal and Pooja UmashankarTamil
2010Va- Quarter CuttingWriters & Directors Shiva, S.P.B. Charan and Lekha WashingtonTamil
2017Vikram VedhaWriters & Directors R.Madhavan, Vijay Sethupathi and Shraddha SrinathTamil

Awards

Listed below are the list of awards and the recognition by Pushkar and Gayatri, in the national and international platforms

Year Awards Title Category Result ref
2008 Ad Club Awards Madras Oram Po Best Movie Trailer Won
2017 Provoke Awards Vikram Vedha Best Director Won
2017 Brew Awards Vikram Vedha Best Director Won
2017 Chennai International Film Festival Vikram Vedha Second Best Tamil Feature Film Won [1]
2017 Technofes Awards Vikram Vedha Best Story Nominated
2018 Vikatan Awards Vikram Vedha Best Screenplay Won [2]
2018 Vijay TV Awards Vikram Vedha Best Director, Best Director Won [3]
2018 Filmfare Awards South Vikram Vedha Best Director Won [4]
2018 Behindwoods Awards Vikram Vedha Best Director Won [5]
  1. IMDb's Top 10 Indian Movies 0f 2017: Ranked No.1 in the IMDb rating https://www.imdb.com/list/ls027291205/
  2. Toyko Film Festival: Screened under the 'World Cinema' category http://2017.tiff-jp.net/en/lineup/works.php?id=148
  3. Prague Indian Film Festival: Screened during the festival

References

  1. Vikram Vedha Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RKI9_B7tOg
  2. Review in The Hindu: http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/vikram-vedha-review-grey-matter/article19325872.ece
  3. Pushkar & Gayatri's Interview with Baradwaj Rangan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ3fXHHETbg
  4. Interview in Scroll.in:https://thereel.scroll.in/842793/it-is-nothing-like-any-other-tamil-film-pushkar-gayathri-on-vikram-vedha
  5. 'Blue Sattai' Review on Vikram Vedha: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Zo12oPSjaM
  6. Vikram Vedha Twitter: https://twitter.com/hashtag/vikramvedha?lang=en
  1. ↑ BollywoodLife. "Vikram Vedha, Vijay Sethupathi win top honours at 15th Chennai International Film Festival". Retrieved 2018-08-31.
  2. ↑ "Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards (2018)". IMDb. Retrieved 2018-08-31.
  3. ↑ "Vijay Awards 2018: Nayanthara, Vijay Sethupathi, Mersal, Vikram Vedha Win Big; Check Out The Complete List of Winners Here | LatestLY". Latestly. 09:00:57 am IST Jun, 4, 2018. Retrieved 2018-08-31. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ↑ "65th Filmfare Awards South winners: Vikram Vedha, Baahubali 2 and Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum win big". The Indian Express. 2018-06-17. Retrieved 2018-08-31.
  5. ↑ "Winners list of Behindwoods Gold Medal Awards 2018". Behindwoods. 2018-06-17. Retrieved 2018-08-31.
  1. Rajinikanth on Vikram Vedha: "http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/rajinikanth-praises-vikram-vedha-madhavan-vijay-sethupathi/1/1012017.html"
  2. Vikram Vedha Twitter: https://twitter.com/hashtag/vikramvedha?lang=en
  3. Tokyo Film Festival: http://2017.tiff-jp.net/en/lineup/works.php?id=148
  4. Prague Film Festival: http://www.kinosvetozor.cz/en/program/filmy/9240/Vikram-Vedha/
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