The bond between pigeons and humans goes back centuries. Once messengers during wars, their domestication and selective breeding led to them being used in sporting events and racing. Byri Part-1 attempts to narrate a story behind the races while delving into the regional significance behind it. The film is helmed by debutant John Glady, who has previously worked with director Vetrimaaran and Sanjeev of Thakka Thakka-fame. The short film which was a semi-final contender in Naalaya Iyakkunar, and earned much recognition, has now been made into a full-length feature format starring newcomers Syed Majeed and Meghna Ellen in lead roles.
Drawing comparisons to the life of pigeons and humans, Glady says, “If you take 50 pigeons for training during a season, only 10 will make it to the race as it is very difficult to save them from the attack of falcons. This is very similar to human life where only a few people can surpass those above them. The core plot of the story is based on this theme.”
John Glady is also quick to clarify that his film is completely different from Dhanush’s Maari although one can draw similarities based on pigeon racing.
Elucidating the nature of these races, Glady says, “There are majorly three different varieties in pigeon racing. Thoothukudi, Chennai and Madurai are famous for homer (type of pigeon) racing. Each one of these cities have clubs that conduct these races. They release these pigeons for a certain distance, say, 100 km or 200 km. The quickest one to return is declared the winner.” He further adds, “Dhanush’s Maari showcased ‘karna’ type of pigeon racing, a bird that specialises in somersaulting in the air. The winning pigeon is selected based on the number of times it does that on air.”
Interestingly, Byri has more than 700 CGI shots to showcase the pigeons and their movements. Glady also reveals that they have tried to use several villu paatu for narrating the story. While John Glady, Ramesh Arumugam, Vinu, Saranya Ravichandran, Karthik Prasanna and Dinesh play prominent roles, Byri also stars real-life pigeon racers in key roles. Byri has cinematography by AV Vasantha Kumar and editing by RS Satish. Music for the film is composed by Arun Raj of Thadam fame. Produced by V Durairaj of DK Productions, the film is set to hit theatres on February 23.
Source: The New Indian Express