DAM-999 A HOLLYWOOD FILM

DAM-999

A HOLLYWOOD FILM

Dam999 is an upcoming english  3-D UAE-Indian co-production film produced by BizTV Network, UAEand directed by Sohan Roy. The movie is based on the award winning short documentary DAMs- The Lethal Water Bombs and the Banqiao dam disaster of 1975 that claimed the lives of 250,000 people in China and anticipated calamity for  Mullaperiyar Dam in Kerala The film falls in the category of an emotional thriller. The ancient Indian concept of  Navarasas or the nine human emotions, are represented by an assortment of actors from India and Hollywood. The movie also portrays the concepts of  Ayurveda as well as lost love against the backdrop of the story of a dilapidated colonial dam.

The story revolves around the central edifice in this movie, a 100-year-old dam built by the British during their colonial days in India. Like a dam, each character in this movie holds back their emotions for various reasons. Eventually the dam breaks along with that of its characters, drawing the audience to a gripping climax. The number 999 has great importance in British Colonial Indian history.The 999 represent "999-year lease agreement on the control of Mullai Periyar Dam to the Government of Tamilnadu made during erstwhile British colonial rule". The story reveals the concealed truth of India's age-old myths and science. This Plot is enhanced true to life due to 2D to 3D conversion.The 3D technology and support was given by Rays Magna 3D.

DMK President M Karunanidhi today came out against the release of " DAB999” a  Hollywood film depicting the dangers posed by the collapse of an old dam, saying it had been made based on the Mullaperiyar dam over which Tamil Nadu and Kerala are locked in a dispute.The film, if allowed to be released, would strain the cordial ties between the people of the two states and pose law and order problems, he cautioned in a statement here. "Considering this, it becomes imperative that the release of the film should be avoided in the state," he said a day after MDMK leader Vaiko and PMK founder S Ramadoss sought a ban on the Sohan Roy directed movie set for worldwide release on November 25.Karunanidhi said while the Mullaperiyar dam issue remained unresolved for many years, some people have made the film giving it a "motivated title", an apparent reference to the 999 year rights held by Tamil Nadu over Mullaperiyar dam.

The 116-year old dam, located in Iddukki district of Kerala, is under the  Tamil Nadu Government control and meets the irrigation needs of farmers in southern districts.Citing safety concerns, Kerala has proposed construction of a new dam to replace the old structure, but Tamil Nadu has been opposing the move saying it would affect the state's interest.Stating that his party MPs raised the issue in Parliament today, Karunanidhi expressed hope that the Centre and the film industry should consider all aspects and take a decision.Vaiko said in a separate statement today that his partymen would stage a "peaceful protest" against the release of the film on Friday.Ten MDMK activists were arrested yesterday after they allegedly damaged the film rolls at a preview theatre where a trailer was to be screened.

The four decade old dispute between Tamil Nadu and Kerala on the Mullaperiyar Dam took a new turn on Thursday with the Tamil Nadu government banning the release of Dam 999, a Hollywood movie telling the story of the bursting of a dam and its consequences. Theatre owners in Tamil Nadu had declared on Wednesday that the movie would not be screened in the state.

"The Tamil Nadu government has banned the screening of movie Dam 999 with immediate effect," said a one-line statement issued by Chief Secretary Debendranath Sarangi. Interestingly, the movie has a galaxy of film technicians from Tamil cinemas. Thotta Tharini, the scenic designer who crafted the new Secretariat in Chennai in time for its inauguration by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2010 is the production designer of Dam 999 produced by Warner Brothers. Srinivas Murali Mohan, another Tamil artist who shot into fame with his visual effects in Rajnikanth starrers Enthiran and Sivaji, the Boss directed the graphics while Anal Arassu, another familiar name in Tamil films composed the action sequences
All major political parties in Tamil Nadu argue that Dam 999 has been shot with Mullaperiyar Dam as its background. But Sohan Roy, a marine engineer –turned movie maker told DNA that the picture has nothing to do with Mullaperiyar. “Dams have interested me since my childhood days. The disaster caused bythe bursting of the Banqiao Dam in China in 1975 in which 2,31, 000 diedwas the inspiration for this movie. I feel that dams, especially old dams are lethal bombs capable of causing mayhem and destruction,” said Roy. He said if people in Tamil Nadu feel it was shot with Mullaperiyar as the background, it is because they know that the bursting of the dam could cause the same kind of destruction,” he said.
The 116 year-old Mullaperiyar Dam, built on a stretch of land leased by the then princely state of Travancore to Madras Presidency in 1885 for 999 years has been a bone of contention between Keralaand Tamil Nadu since 1978. Keralaengineers argue that the dam, built in 1895 has out lived its utility and should have decommissioned in 1945.The government of Kerala has been pressing for building a new dam downstream of the present dam which has a storage capacity of 15 TMC. The Mullapewriyar dam irrigates the water starveddistricts of Theni, Madurai, puthukottai, Ramanathapuram, Dindigul and Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu. ThoughKerala government has agreed to supply Tamil Nadu with the same quantity of water which they draw now, Tamil Nadu politicians are hell bent against the construction of a new dam. Mullaperiyar is vulnerable to earth quakes and experts of theCentral Soil and Materials Research Station has found that the existing dam would not survive an earthquake of magnitude four in the Richter scale. More than 22 tremors of magnitude lesser than four were recorded in Mullaperiyar and surrounding areas since January this year.
“Nobody in Tamil Nadu has seen this movie which is slated for release on Friday. Probably they want to keep the people ignorant about ground realities,” said Roy who also directed an award winning documentary “Dams The Lethal Weapons”.According to this documentary, four districts of Kerala including Kochi, the Queen of Arabian Sea, wouldbe wiped out from the face of the earth in the eventuality of Mullaperiyar bursting.
                                                                     Prof. John Kurakar