It was a recorded message. “Jai, I don’t think this plan will work out. You’ve contacted Mohan G. Who is he? What is his status? He is XXXX. You cancel my ticket. I’m not coming; I’ll talk to Jeyamohan about it. The call was terminated with a lengthy beep.
I apologise for not being able to transcribe the entirety of Ms. Lena Manimegalai’s speech, but the above sentences are the segment from the audio message.
The room was silent. Everyone was looking at everyone.
Jai attempted to contact her to explain the situation, but her phone and Whatsapp were both blocked.
Jai appeared to be terrified and nervous.
Everyone is waiting to hear what Mr. Jeyamohan has to say now.
I was convinced that he would accept it. Mr. Mohan Ji’s films have sparked widespread debate in Tamil cinema and politics, but I don’t believe this will have an influence on film festivals.
I assured the team that “Mr. Jeyamohan is a progressive writer” and that “I am certain that he would not make the same decision as Lena.” I asked Jai to call and talk to him.
Mr. Jeyamohan did not pick up the phone when Jai contacted him; this is common for him, but he always calls back.
So we sat and waited.
The atmosphere in the room is tense and nervous.
After around 45 minutes, Jai received a message.
Mr. Jeyamohan made an audio recording.
“Jai, I don’t think I can come to the festival; you’ve invited Mohan G’s kind of people to the festival, and now you’re inviting me as well;” “His ideology and mine cannot match, and this isn’t the forum to debate it; you can call writers who are all aligned to his ideology; please cancel the flight tickets and hotel; all the best,” the message read.
Jai fainted.
I was very disappointed and very unimpressed by Mr. Jeyamohan’s message.
I told Jai to contact him again or record a message explaining how and why we invited Mr. Mohan G.
Mr. Jeyamohan did not answer the phone, so Jai audio-recorded and narrated the story.
Again, Mr. Jeyamohan sent a recorded message saying this won’t work, and you people are not mature enough to handle it. He then blocked the phone and Whatsapp.
It was a great disappointment. The first person that we confirmed as the Chief Guest was Mr. Jeyamohan. We had built lots of hope and dreams around it. There is huge respect for him in the team, and many people from Tamil Nadu are coming to this festival only for Mr. Jeyamohan.
Mr. Jeyamohan is someone I greatly admire. I have read several of his novels and am a huge fan of his work. I had never met, but I was hoping to meet during the event.
This occurrence was a major setback for the team, particularly for Jai, whose entire existence revolves around the film industry, and Mr. Jeyamohan, who is regarded as a highly prominent writer. This event, if it escalates into something major, will have a direct impact on his career.
I had hoped that Mr. Jeyamohan would take a different stance and discuss the issues with us directly rather than listen to the opinions of others. I was certain he would come because his ideals are profound, his expressions are powerful, and he will overcome any controversies that may arise.
But, regrettably, things did not work out that way. I’m still perplexed as to why he refused; he could have said, “Call Mohan G or me separately, don’t call us together, or modify the dates.” After all, we’re all doing this festival for the love of short films, and it’s not a political platform or a media ploy.
He broke my heart.
Jai called Mr. Mohan G and informed him of the events, but I should say that I could see a clear understanding of the issue and generosity immediately came from Mr. Mohan G, who simply said, “Jai, call Mr. Jeyamohan. He is important. I will definitely come as an audience and don’t bother including me in the invitations or any other publicity, I will come for you guys. “
Listening to the conversation with Mohan G gave the team a huge morale boost.
It was easy for Ms. Lena Manimegalai and Mr. Jeyamohan to simply say, “cancel the tickets” and “they are not coming,” but for the festival organisers, it was a huge blow, because it is not only the festival’s credibility that has suffered, but we have also lost a lot of money. We must cancel all of the tickets. The negative campaign surrounding me and the festival is already having an effect on us, and we have to work twice as hard to answer countless queries. This just added to our suffering.
We have only three days to be ready for the inauguration.
My biggest worry right now is determining who is going to inaugurate the Ooty Short Film Festival.
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