The auto rickshaw driver who is taking India to Oscar

Coimbatore rickshaw driver M Chandrakumar, whose book inspired Dhanush's 'Visaranai', talks about India's official entry to the Oscars 2017

A still from 'Visaranai'; (inset) Dhanush

"It's a proud moment. I am really overwhelmed," gushes M Chandrakumar. The Coimbatore-based auto rickshaw driver, fondly known as Auto Chandran, is over the moon with Dhanush's production venture, 'Visaranai', based on his life, edging past 28 films to be chosen as India's official entry to the Oscars 2017.

The film had earlier won three National Awards — Best Tamil Film, Best Supporting Actor (Samuthirakani), and Best Editing (TE Kishore), but Chandran hadn't imagined that it could enter the Academy Awards race. "I want to thank Dhanush and Vetrimaaran (director). Thanks to their efforts, my voice has been heard all over the globe," he says.

M Chandrakumar

The film's subject was largely borrowed from the 53-year-old's memoir of sorts, 'Lock Up' (2006) — how he was arrested in 1983 and tortured by cops in Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh for a fortnight for a crime he hadn't committed. "I was working as a waiter at a hotel in Andhra Pradesh, when two of my friends and I were arrested. For 13 days, our life was made hell. Cops would beat and starve us just because they wanted us to confess to an offence that we weren't responsible for. Those bitter memories still haunt me," he recounts.

The class X dropout had run away from home and after a brief stint in prison, started driving auto rickshaw for a living. He wrote books while waiting for passengers. "Not even in my wildest dreams, had I thought I would achieve so much after the film was made on my book," he adds.

Chandran travelled to the Venice film festival with the team of Visaranai last year. There, the film bagged the prestigious Cinema for Human Rights Award. Does he wish to be part of the Oscar trip too? He says, "I don't know if I am going, but I hope that I get a chance to travel to LA. It all depends on the team and how things work out."

When hitlist got in touch with director Vetrimaaran, he sounded ecstatic about the selection: "My phone hasn't stopped ringing since the news broke. I am happy with all the international appreciation that the film has received. Even the audience loved the film." In a press statement, Dhanush thanked the cast and crew of the film. "It's a joyous moment for all of us," he said.

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