How Busan Title ‘Selvi’ Turns a Nurse’s Working Hours Into an Endurance Test

A homecare nurse whose working day stretches from 12 hours to 72 sits at the center of “Selvi,” the first feature from Tamil filmmaker Sailesh Rathnakumar, which premieres in the Busan International Film Festival’s Vision–Asia section. Anjali Patil plays the title role and produces through her banner Anahat Films. Rathnakumar wrote the screenplay with cinematographer […] Sailesh Rathnakumar and Anjali Patil on ‘Selvi,’ a Busan Vision–Asia drama about a Tamil homecare nurse pushed to the brink by endless shifts. A homecare nurse whose working day stretches from 12 hours to 72 sits at the center of “Selvi,” the first feature from Tamil filmmaker Sailesh Rathnakumar, which premieres in the Busan International Film Festival’s Vision–Asia section.

Anjali Patil plays the title role and produces through her banner Anahat Films. Rathnakumar wrote the screenplay with cinematographer Bargav Sridhar, and Sreekar Prasad edited the film. Selvi hopes to qualify as a nurse and eventually work in Singapore. When Kavitha, a friend since childhood, attempts suicide, Selvi takes over her shifts on top of her own and spends her days moving between private homes, caring for families who know little about her. “For someone like Selvi, a crisis doesn’t necessarily arrive as one dramatic event,” Rathnakumar tells Variety. “It