Director Cheran returns with ‘Thirumanam’

Kavya Suresh is clearly destiny’s favourite child.

Sometimes knocking on the wrong door could turn out to be the right one in life. Ask actress Kavya Suresh, who knocked on the wrong door while visiting her choreographer friend Sajna Najam on the sets.

The wrong door turned out to be a door of opportunity in Tamil cinema. Director Cheran, four-time recipient of the Indian National Award, was staying inside the first room. Suresh met him a little later when Sajna introduced her to the director-actor. And Cheran was keen on taking her in his new film. A photo-shoot followed and before she knew it, Suresh bagged the lead role in ‘Thirumanam’.

“I was the last one to join the team-exactly a week before shooting began,” laughed Suresh, who has acted in two Malayalam films, ‘Ore Mukham’ and ‘Kamuki.’

In ‘Thirumanam’, a family drama, she plays Adhira and stars opposite Umapathy Ramiah (son of actor Thambi Ramiah). Ramiah plays Mahesh, a radio jockey.

“Adhira is the girl next door. She works as a sales girl in a store,” said Kavya Suresh. “An independent thinker, she places her family before everything else.”

‘Thirumanam’ talks about the constitution of marriage, especially the big fat Indian wedding where money is splurged.

“Every character will be relatable to the audience,” she said.

Working with Cheran was a learning experience, she added.

“He was calm and let me take any number of takes for a scene. His tips on acting helped in improving my performance,” said Suresh.

Cheran, besides directing the film, also plays a key role in ‘Thirumanam.’ He is Adhira’s brother. Sukanya plays Mahesh’s older sister. The supporting cast includes Thambi Ramiah, Jayaprakash and MS Bhaskar.

Siddharth Vipin has scored music. Rajesh Yadav is the DOP.

With her third Malayalam film, ‘Thenkasi Kaattu’, also releasing on the same day as ‘Thirumanam’, Suresh is excited. In this film, she plays a mute young woman who aspires to be a dancer and the challenges she encounters in her life.

For this role, Suresh learnt sign language.

“It’s a role that challenged me, said the bharatanatyam dancer who worked in an ad agency and then in television before entering cinema with ‘Ore Mukham’ in 2016.

‘Thirumanam’, produced by Premnath Chidambaram, releases in the UAE on March 1.