A baby face belies the underlying talent of filmmaker Karthik Subbaraj.
Without any airs but with a contagious smile, Subbaraj took just two films to prove his mettle. With every new film, he has experimented with a different genre. His debut, Pizza, was a romantic thriller; his second, the National Film Award-winning Jigarthanda, was a black comedy. Subbaraj is now ready with his third, Iraivi (Goddess), out in the UAE on June 2. Will it be a hat-trick?
“This would be more on the lines of emotional stories told by [veteran Tamil directors] Balachander and Balu Mahendran,” Subbaraj says.
Playing the leads once again are Vijay Sethupathi and Bobby Simha, with whom he began his journey in filmmaking. S.J. Suryah plays the third lead and is paired opposite Kamalini Mukherjee. Anjali is paired opposite Sethupathi. Pooja Devariya, a stage actor who manages theatre group Stray Factory in Chennai, makes her cinema debut in a lead role. Simha plays a college student, while Karunakaran is Ramesh, who is adept at breaking locks.
Subbaraj says that the film grew from his observation of the women in his family. “It is not a film on feminism nor is there any message, but a story that everyone can relate to,” he says.
He calls Sethupathi’s performance in Iraivi his best since Pizza. Sethupathi adds: “After watching Iraivi, men will pause and rethink over the women in their lives.”
For Suryah, who also directs films, Iraivi is a dream come true since he always wanted to be known more for his acting skills. “Iraivi is about how we take our relationships for granted,” Suryah says.
The film is scored by Santosh Narayanan, who worked on Subbaraj’s earlier films. There is something fresh in Iraivi’s soundtrack, be it Suryah’s rendering of the song Onnu Rendu Moonu or Narayanan’s Kaadhal Kappal. But the song that lives up to the theme of the film is Manidhi. This song written by lyricist Vivek coaxes women to come out of their shells and seek freedom: Manidhi Velliye Vaa (Step out, women).
