Jagat director's new film to premiere at prestigious festival

MALAYSIANSKINI | There was no exact moment or film that made award-winning director Shanjhey Kumar Perumal choose his calling. It was just something he wanted to do since he was 14 years old.

“I remember my teacher asking the class what they want to do when they grow up. All my other friends were saying doctors, engineers, lawyers, and teachers. I simply wanted to say something else to sound different from them.

“So I said I want to become a filmmaker. And then the whole class looked at me and went ‘wow’. I liked the attention,” he told Malaysiakini during an interview.

Shanjhey associated filmmaking with fame and fortune not knowing that it would be a tough road ahead. Determined to make films, he applied and got a place at Universiti Sains Malaysia where he studied film and television.

However, it was his passion and perseverance after years of toil in the industry that led to making the celebrated Malaysian Tamil film Jagat (2016).

Now 43, he is back with...