Now playing, Balu Mahendra's 'dream' project at a Chennai library

It was a casual conversation with Ajayan Bala when celebrated filmmaker Balu Mahendra mentioned his desire for a place where he could talk about cinema. But he died (in 2014) before finding one such place. The brief conversation stayed with Ajayan. In 2018, Ajayan, a writer-filmmaker himself, started a library with a collection of 2,000 books from his cramped-up, single-room office in Chennai’s Saligramam. He named it after the veteran filmmaker.

Today, Balu Mahendra Noolagam (Tamil for library) doubles up as a meeting spot for aspiring directors, cinematographers, camera operators, actors as well as film enthusiasts. Every evening, the library – which has recently shifted to a bigger place – illuminates with the sounds and lights of movies directed by the likes of Federico Fellini, Ingmar Bergman and Akira Kurosawa. Each screening is followed by vibrant discussion on the day’s movie.

What about weekends? Experts speak on various topics related to literature, art, culture and, of course, cinema.

The idea

With 450 members, the library provides a space for aspiring filmmakers to think and experiment with their ideas. That was precisely, Ajayan says, the idea – to encourage talented youngsters to join the field of filmmaking. The initiative evoked tremendous response from film enthusiasts through social networking sites soon after the library was launched.

According to Ajayan, Balu Mahendra always dreamt of such a space when he was alive. “He would tell me that we needed a place where we could talk about parallel cinema.”

While Ajayan’s friends supported him a lot, the initiative was quite challenging. “That’s mainly because I wanted to make the space different from the usual film clubs and film study centres. What I wanted was a free learning centre where aspiring filmmakers could come and exchange their ideas,” says Ajayan, who is the author of Ulaka Cinema Varalaru: Maunayukam 1894-1929.

But space was a big constraint. “So, I designed the ‘Matchbox discussions’. Only those who are interested participated in it. The ‘Matchbox discussion’, held every weekend in the library, became popular even though we couldn’t accommodate more people in it.”

This was when Tamil filmmaker Vetrimaaran asked Ajayan to shift the library to a spacious apartment in Valasaravakkam, from where the library is functioning today. Vetrimaaran also funded the facelift of the library.

With more than 5,000 books now, the library also has a mini theatre and discussion area. Screening of films and discussions take place regularly there. The members can also borrow books on cinema and literature from the library.” Many contributed when the library was shifted to Valasaravakkam.

“Vetrimaaran even gave me his ATM card and asked me to withdraw as much money as I wanted for the facelift of the library. Many others also contributed books, book racks and the setting up of the mini theatre,” Ajayan adds.

The inspiration

Film director and cinematographer Balanathan Benjamin Mahendran (1939-2014), popularly known as Balu Mahendra, is considered one of the most popular filmmakers in South Asia from the 1980s. He was a native of Amirthakazhi in Batticaloa in Sri Lanka. After his graduation from the University of London, he worked briefly as a draughtsman in Sri Lanka before joining the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune in 1966, to study cinematography.

He began his career as a cinematographer with the Malayalam movie Nellu in 1974, and made his directorial debut a few years later with Kokila, a Kannada film. Some of his acclaimed films in Tamil include Mullum Malarum (as cinematographer), Veedu, Azhiyatha Kolangal, Moodu Pani, Sandhya Raagam and Moondram Pirai.

While Balu Mahendra has worked with the likes of Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan and Dhanush as well, he made his onscreen debut with the Tamil film Thalaimuraigal (2013) and received a good response for his acting skills. With five National Film Awards (two for cinematography), and numerous state awards from the governments of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Balu Mahendra has left behind a rich legacy of films cherished for both style of story narration and technical finesse.

True to the filmmaker’s image, the library has already built a reputation for itself for taking an unconventional path.

In 2020, Mahendra’s wife and son donated a collection of more than 500 DVDs of Tamil and English movies to the library.

There were four boxes, which contained more than 500 DVDs. Even though the DVD format is outdated today, Ajayan displayed them on a special shelf in memory of the filmmaker. “When Balu Mahendra died in 2014, he left a huge collection of books and DVDs that he had maintained during his cinematic career spanning decades. His wife Akhila and son Shanki Mahendra handed over the collection to the library. They felt it was the right place to house the precious collection,” says Ajayan.

Twist in the tale

But just like every happy story has a villain ruining all the fun, the Balu Mahendra library too had to endure the machinations of fate. The coronavirus-induced lockdown affected the functioning of the library for almost two years. But the organisers were determined to weather the storm. Throughout the lockdown, they kept posting video clips of veteran filmmakers of the world cinema online. On one such locked-down evening, the late filmmaker Akira Kurosawa ‘spoke’ on screenwriting.

“You must learn and experience various things to become a director and it is not so easily accomplished,” says Kurosawa in an interview from many years ago. “But if you genuinely want to make films, then write screenplays. All you need to write a script is paper and pencil. It is only through writing scripts that you learn specifics about the structure of the film and what cinema is.”

Ajayan says tips like these from the masters of world cinema encouraged aspiring filmmakers and others in the field, particularly during the first lockdown. The library also conducts workshops on acting and screenwriting.

Ajayan now plans to start a publication in the name of the library where books related to Tamil cinema will be published.

“It has become a happening place now. In December 2020, another library in the name of Balu Mahendra was opened in Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka. Some say they got inspiration from us. Anyway, that’s great news, says Ajayan.

After all, he adds, the idea is to inspire more and more people to do what Balu Mahendra always wanted – talk about cinema.