Directed by Bejoy Nambiar, Solo is an anthology of four stories that sees a single actor — namely Dulquer Salmaan — play the starring role in each segment.
Shot simultaneously in Tamil and Malayalam, the film is slated to have its star-studded premiere in the UAE on October 5 at the Galleria Cinema, Hyatt Regency, at 9pm.
Ahead of the screening, Nambiar spoke to Gulf News tabloid! about working with a bevy of stars that includes names such as Manoj K Jayan, Soubin Shahir, Ann Augustine, Deepti Sati and Renji Panicker. Veteran Malayalam actress Asha Jayaram also marks her movie return in a significant role.
Meanwhile, Tamil actors Satish, Suhasini Maniratnam, Nasser and John Vijay have also signed on, while Bollywood’s Dino Morea also features.
With 11 composers and three cinematographers on board, Solo is not a solo journey for Nambiar. The director shares details about the movie.
What is Solo about?
It’s an anthology; something I always wanted to try. I started with nine stories, which got shortlisted to four. Each story is separate and unconnected with the other. Dulquer is the only common factor in all four as the protagonist.
Dulquer’s characters are named after the Hindu deity, Shiva. What’s the connection?
Shiva and his mythological stories have fascinated me. He is a colourful character and I wanted to write a story around him.
In Solo, I have tapped into Shiva’s moods, especially his love for Parvati, and his rage. Therefore Dulquer’s characters are Rudra, Shiva, Shekhar and Trilok.
As Solo marks my foray into Malayalam cinema and return to Tamil, I wanted to make something out of the box and not a conventional film.
Tell us about the different worlds in Solo.
Dulquer plays four different people and the looks for each is completely different.
In one story he is Rudra, an army cadet. Brash, aggressive and with an ego to boot. Rudra loves the brigadier’s daughter, Akshara. She is vivacious and a perfect foil for Rudra. She can get away with even murder so long as she has Rudra by her side. This love affair is an unconventional one and I might get brickbats.
Who is Siva?
He is an underworld gangster. He loves Rukku, a volatile young woman. I have explored the emotional turmoil of their relationship. This story is not only about them but also about other fractured relationships within. These are not the normal bonds seen between man and woman.
Shiva’s mentor is Bhadran, a gangster with a heart and a love for music. Manoj K Jain plays Bhadran. It’s a role that complements Manoj’s acting style. We shot this in Kochi, Chennai and Mumbai.
What about Shekhar’s world?
Koshish (Hindi film with Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bachchan) was a film that left a strong impression in my mind. And, I wanted to explore a love story where disability does not come in the way of a relationship. Shekhar’s world is about that.
Shekhar is a college student who falls in love with a visually challenged girl, played by Dhansika. Shekhar has a stammering problem and this love story is about two misfits. Dulquer sports long hair with a knot like Shiva in this portion.
And, Trilok?
We have not revealed this one story from Solo though our trailers gave a peek into the other three stories. We leave it to the audience to discover Trilok. Arti Venkatesh is paired opposite Dulquer here.
Were these stories not suitable for a full-length feature?
These stories can work well in a shorter format and have a better impact. I could have drawn it out into different feature films but the essence would have been lost.
Four stories, many characters, two languages and a large team, how did you manage?
I enjoyed the casting process to begin with. We shot each story like a feature film. Between the first two stories we took a break.
The army story was shot in Lonavala under the supervision of Major Sanjay, an ex-army man. He made sure that all protocols were handled well and ensured the authenticity of the scenes.
However, the last two stories were shot back to back. It was quite stressful, but I think that pressure helped Dulquer in pushing himself into his characters.
There were times when after several takes of hard work you get a phenomenal shot. But soon realise that the same scene has to be done again in the other language. Some happy accidents were found when newcomers gave a brilliant performance.
Why the title ‘Solo’?
Solo refers to aham Brahmasmi [I am Brahma].
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Meet the women from Solo
Sruthi Hariharan
Having largely worked in Kannada cinema, she plays Rukku, Shiva’s love interest. Hariharan describes Rukku as a fiery woman from the lower rung of society. “She is vociferous and makes sure of getting her way through everything. This role reveals the animal side in her,” she said.
Neha Sharma
Bollywood’s Neha Sharma makes her Tamil and Malayalam debut as Bama (Tamil) and Akshara (Malayalam), Rudra’s lover.
“She is a spunky and passionate woman,” said Sharma, who had to overcome the barrier of working in two new languages.
“It was not easy emoting and expressing feelings in a new particularly the climax scene.”
Nambiar’s narration and patience helped her get through along with co-actor Salmaan’s support, whom she describes as a compassionate and giving actor.
Arti Venkatesh
A Chennai-based model debuts into cinema with Solo. She plays Trilok’s wife Aisha. “She is a contemporary woman, the girl next door, simple and sweet,” Venkatesh said.
Dhansika
She plays a visually challenged woman in the world of Shekhar.
Deepti Sati
She plays an army cadet in Rudra’s world. She is Daisy, Rudra’s friend. “I had to fine tune the little nuances that come with this role, like my gait and body language,” said Sati, who returned to Malayalam cinema with Pullikkaran Staraa.
