The story of Naadu is a true incident that I saw; Director Saravanan
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I don’t know who Darshan is; Director Saravanan shocked at Naadu Film Event
‘Naadu’ is a film jointly produced by Chakra and Raj under Sri Arc Media. Saravanan, the director who gave the super hit movie ‘Engeyum Eppodhum’, which is still in the minds of the fans even today, has directed this film. Famous actor Darshan has played the lead role in Bigg Boss, while beauty Mahima Nambiar has played the lead role.
Singampuli, Aruldas, RS Shivaji, Inba and others have played the main roles. Composer Sathya, who traveled with director Saravanan from the film Engyum Always, has composed the music for this film as well. National award-winning art director Ilayaraja has overseen the art design of the film for Sakthivel’s cinematography. Pon Kathiresan has done the editing.
The press meet of the film was held yesterday evening at Prasad Lab, Saligramam, Chennai, while the final stages of the film are in progress.
Speaking at this event, director Saravanan said,
“Most of the characters in cinema these days are shown as very intelligent and intellectual characters. We moved away from that and made this film a story about simple people. In this film we are talking about the problem of hill dwellers. The shooting of this movie has been done in Kollimalai area. An incident which I saw firsthand during a visit to Kollimalai many years ago affected my mind. I created the story of this film focusing on that event which had been in my mind for a long time.
I never saw Darshan who played the hero in this film till he auditioned.. because I don’t watch Bigg Boss. Even before coming to the audition they showed his passport size photo. But seeing him in person made him seem like the right person for the role. I immediately started telling him the story. Similarly, when coming to the workshop of this film, I have told you to buy a lungi and tie it instead of wearing a band shirt. Since then he started traveling daily with this story. That’s why even during the shoot he was able to memorize all the lines without a script paper,” he said.
When cinematographer Sakthivel spoke,
“When I was told that the story of this film takes place in the backdrop of Kollimala, I definitely thought of making this a different film. Accordingly, we have shot in many locations that have not been set foot in the cinema so far,” he said.
When art director Ilayaraja spoke,
“When I saw that the film was titled Naadu, I did not understand anything at first. Director Saravanan showed me 28 countries when I went to the shooting location. The people there are living as a nation in terms of society, language and race. At the same time, they are simple people.. They are not adivasis as much as I observed during the shooting days there.. I understood that we here are technological adivasis.
As music composer Sathya spoke,
“It is easy for me to continue working with director Saravanan as I share the same frequency. After watching the film, I realized that it needed a lot of background music. We have to start work accordingly,” he said.
Film editor Pon Kathiresan said,
“This film is my second film.. but I have been waiting for a film like this for eight years. When watching this film, surely everyone who sees the film will feel as if they have gone to that place,” he said.
When Darshan, the hero of the film, said,
“When director Saravanan told me the story, at first I couldn’t believe that I was in the film. I have played the role of a young man born and brought up in Kollimalai. The heroine Mahima Nambiar Sr. shared many things about cinema with me without looking at my ego. Makima told me that normally I wouldn’t do all this and cheered and praised me many times during the shoot. I developed a good friendship with the actor Inba, who acted with me in this film. People who saw us were surprised that we were so bonded outside than on screen,” he said.
When heroine Mahima Nambiar spoke,
She shared the interesting fact that she entered the film as the female lead.
“The director told me about this film for 20 minutes over the phone. Right then I decided to act in this film. After that I called him and told him that I am acting in this film. He also agreed without showing much surprise saying yes.