To Let is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language drama film written, directed and filmed by Chezhiyan. Produced by his wife Prema, the film stars Santhosh Sreeram, Suseela and Dharun as a family living in a rented house who are suddenly ordered by their landlady Aadhira Pandilakshmi to vacate.
At the 65th National Film Awards, it won in the category Best Feature Film in Tamil. At the 49th International film festival of India, Goa it won Special jury mention award in international competition. The film theatrically released on 21 February 2019 to highly positive reviews from critics, and became a success.
To Let is a quietly powerful film that superbly captures the economic imbalances that the information technology boom has created in our society, and the way it has impacted the lives of the middle-class when it comes to one of the basic necessities of life – shelter. The plot kicks in when a family of three – Ilango (Santhosh Sreeram), an aspiring filmmaker, Amudha (Sheela Rajkumar), his wife, and Siddharth (Dharun), their son – is asked to vacate their house. The entire film involves their search for a house to rent, and is set some time after 2007, when the IT boom resulted in the creation of an upwardly mobile class that did not worry about spending money, and how this, in turn, lead to inflation of real estate prices and made it difficult for the truly middle-class to afford a decent house – even for rent.
Directed by Chezhiyan
Produced by Prema Chezhiyan
Written by Chezhiyan
Starring Santhosh Sreeram, Suseela, Dharun, Aadhira Pandilakshmi
Cinematography Chezhiyan
Edited by A. Sreekar Prasad
Production Zha Cinema
Running time 99 min.
Country India
Language Tamil
