BollyParty

Watching 1400 people give him a ten-minute standing ovation at the just-concluded Toronto Film Festival for his first offbeat film Kanchi-varam, was an experience Priyadarshan couldn't take.

"For the first time in my career I became emotional," says Priyan. "They kept clapping for ten minutes... they wouldn't stop. It was the greatest moment of my career. I couldn't handle it."

Priyan had to completely switch over from his adopted style of filmmaking, as seen in his Hindi comic blockbusters, to make this realistic Tamil film. "It paid off. From Toronto, I've been directly invited to nine other festivals including Pusan and Palm Springs."

The overwhelmed director wants to cherish every moment. "This is the film closest to my heart. People came up to me in Toronto to tell me how they connected emotionally with me. Kanchivaram made me realise that cinema has no language.

Priyan was in Toronto for only three days. "I had to get back to shoot a song with Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone."

Kanchivaram was the only Indian film to be invited to the festival and that too in the world cinema category. Chuckles Priyan, "Otherwise, even Singh Is Kinng was there. That too is my kind of cinema. Hollywood Reporter wrote, 'Remake Filmmaker Priydarshan Surprises'. So even abroad I'm known as the man who remakes South Indiam filmmakers. Kanchi-varam was an original script written by me."

Now Kachivaram is being readied for a December release in India. "I'm going to release it only in Tamil Nadu and one subtitled print in Mumbai."