11/11/2025
Kombu started from a small spark ā a newspaper article in The Hindu (Tamil Nadu special page, to be precise). From there, one call led to another, and before we knew it, we were on our way to Sivagangai, chasing a story that caught our hearts in a gif.
The landscape of Vembathoor was unlike anything weād seen before ā raw, vast, and humbling. We had this burning urge to show our viewers what we saw and felt in that space of awe. We hope we did justice ā or at least, weāre learning to.We had just three days to shoot, and honestly, it took us one full day just to understand the landscape. Big thanks to Mr. Velu and his two teammates ā they even put their daily work on hold to help us shoot. Like many subjects in our documentaries, they too were people seeking light, and they saw in us not filmmakers, but friends trying to tell their story.
We explained our process ā that this is a documentation, not a profit-driven project ā and still, they stood with us. On days when time ran out and montages piled up, they stayed till the very end, skipping lunch but reminding us to eat and take care of our health. Our final shoot happened on a dry lakebed, with rain clouds threatening to end the day. But maybe even the rain god saw our lazy but determined selves hustling ā and postponed the downpour, gifting us that perfect grey sky weād dreamt of for our drone shots.
We made plenty of mistakes in Kombu ā from the overlong intro to missing montages. But every film teaches us something new, and we love that learning curve. It doesnāt tire us; it excites us. We know we have a long way to go, but this process is what keeps us grounded and growing.
And finally, a big shoutout to Apoorvan, who literally saved our budget ā covering accommodation and expenses when we were running dry.
Hereās to more stories, more learning, and more documentariesā„ļø
Team Dodoš¦¤
š¦
