Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to congratulate Ealan Elango, who has managed to produce the first Tamil film in Australia made by local Tamils. Even better than that, the film has been selected to be screened in the Tamil Film Festival in Norway in April 2013—a great achievement by Ealan.

The film is called Iniyavale Kaathiruppen, which means 'sweetheart, I'll wait for you'. It is a full-length drama about two families in Australia have been separated from their loved ones and how they get along without their partners while they wait to be reunited. I spoke to Ealan shortly after I heard the news, and he asked me to acknowledge a couple of people on his behalf, and I will now do that, starting with Udayan, who composed the music and who is a musician based in India. Ealan said he was inspired through the whole process by one of the actors who worked on the film: Ragunathan, an actor of some 50 years experience at a high level, who came all the way from France to act in the film. Ealan asked me to also—finally—thank his wife-to-be, Subashini, who supported him through the whole process. Congratulations, Ealan, on a job well done and on what I hope is the beginning of a long career in film.