It’s not easy to direct a star, but 24-year-old newcomer Ashwin Saravanan, who has a few short films to his credit, has become one of the youngest directors to work with southern actress Nayantara in upcoming yet-untitled Tamil, a supernatural thriller.
“Nayantara plays a mother and the story predominantly revolves around her character. That’s all I can reveal at the moment,” Saravanan said.
Potential Studios, a subsidiary of popular Tamil production house Studio Green, is producing the film, which also features Aari in the lead.
How did Saravanan manage to sign a star in his debut?
“It was quite challenging because I haven’t assisted anyone. But instead of pitching the story to my producers, I shot a five-minute pilot scene from the film and approached them. I narrated my story and subsequently showed them the scene. They really liked it,” he said.
Pilot scene
“In a supernatural thriller, it’s mostly the visuals and the tone of the film that matter. The pilot scene came in very handy because no matter how good a story is, producers usually worry about the final product. That’s precisely why I gave them a glimpse of what I intend to make,” he added.
Nayantara came onboard because the producers felt “someone with great screen presence could only pull off the role”.
“Initially, we felt she might not do this film. But after I saw the Tamil remake of Kahaani, I thought she might be interested in doing it. We approached her and I showed her the pilot scene. Two days later, she agreed to be part of the project,” Saravanan said.
Nayantara believes in a director’s vision and is a thorough professional to work with, said Saravanan, who is still left with 15 days of shooting.
“She’s a delight to work with. She never asks questions and trusts her director. It’s very easy to work with her and you never feel that she’s a star,” he said.
“This supernatural film will be more about the characters. Audiences won’t get to see Nayantara or her stardom because they’ll be engrossed by her character. Her costumes, acting and everything around her will be organic,” he added.
Reservations
This will be the first time Nayantara will be playing a mother in a Tamil film. In Telugu, she has played a mother in Tulasi and Sri Rama Rajyam.
Saravanan admits he initially had his reservations about whether Nayantara would accept a mother’s role.
“People aren’t used to seeing her as a mother in Tamil movies and that part worried me the most. But after I saw her playing a mother to two kids in a Telugu film, I hoped she wouldn’t mind playing the role again. I’m glad she agreed to do it and she’s been splendid,” said Saravanan.
The film, which is jointly produced by Prabhu and Prakash Babu, has music by debutant Ron Yohan.
