A flower named Chezhiyan: Sreekar Prasad remembers the filmmaker whose final film heads to Tokyo

The National Award-winning film editor on the late Tamil cinematographer-director-author whose The Paper Flower will premiere at the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival

Published - October 23, 2026 06:00 am IST

Chezhiyan’s final film Kaakithamalar(The Paper Flower) will have its world premiere at the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival’s Asian Future section. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Chezhiyan R. had many films in him. Whenever we met, he would talk about more than one script idea at a time, and I would suggest ways of developing them. There was always another story he wanted to tell, another possibility he wanted to explore. I never imagined that one day these conversations would come to an abrupt end.

His sudden passing this Julyleft us shaken. It is then, at once, heartening and particularly poignant to see his last directorial Kaakithamalar(The Paper Flower) posthumously make its way to the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival’s Asian Future section later this week.

Published - October 23, 2026 06:00 am IST

The Hindu Sunday Magazine / entertainment award / entertainment (general) / arts, culture and entertainment / Tamil cinema / indie films / film festival / cinematography / editing & effects (cinema) / production & direction (cinema) / Chennai / Tamil Nadu

Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.