*Director Seenu Ramasamy Makes a Special Appeal to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay!
Writer and filmmaker Seenu Ramasamy, known for his contributions across multiple creative domains, recently released a video making a heartfelt appeal to Chief Minister Vijay regarding his latest book, “Cinemavin Aanma’ (Cinema Appreciation Education and a Few More Essays), published by Sandhiya Publications.
In the video, he states, “I have written a book titled “Cinemavin Aanma” (Cinema Appreciation Education and a Few More Essays), published by Sandhiya Publications. When I speak about cinema appreciation education, I mean this: in schools, children are taught various disciplines such as sports and painting under co-curricular studies… Yet, not everyone grows up to become athletes or artists. We already have systems in place to introduce children to fine arts, but there are no structured classes to help them develop a meaningful understanding of cinema, something that is deeply embedded in the cultural fabric of our society.
The children of today’s contemporary generation of children spend most of their time with mobile phones. It is our responsibility to help them identify and understand what meaningful cinema truly is. In my deep conviction, cinema appreciation, I believe cinema appreciation is essential as ‘Nutritious Meal’ (Sathunavu Thittam) for children. Parents, teachers, and society collectively have a responsibility to introduce children to quality cinema from an early age and nurture both appreciation and understanding through meaningful films.
Through this book, I have screened films for children from diverse backgrounds and documented my experiences. If you ask whether this is a book meant for children, the answer is no. Rather, it is a guide on how cinema appreciation education can be introduced to students from Classes 1 to 5.
This is a book for primary school teachers, cinema students, young people who love cinema, and truly, a book that deserves a place in every household. I am not saying this simply because I wrote it, I have been engaged in this effort for nearly 15 years.
Just as we teach children how to read, write, paint, and play, I personally feel that it’s a need of hour to impart a knowledge on what kind of films they should watch. I sincerely hope this book reaches everyone. I would like to place a request before the newly formed Joseph Vijay government to bring cinema appreciation education to schools across Tamil Nadu. Just as schools have dedicated laboratories, I request the establishment of home theatre facilities in schools from primary level to Class 12, where films that enrich students’ understanding, taste, and perspective can be screened. Cinema must be embraced as a form of education. The Soul of Cinema is a book that everyone should read.”