Karthi and Rakul Preet return with ‘Dev’

Debutant director Rajath Ravishankar’s story is not another romantic tale but a story about loving life and the people around you.

“Today’s relationships are not merely defined by the three words, ‘I love you.’” said the Tamil director. “Gen X is looking for more than that, especially women being independent today.”

Ravishankar’s debut Tamil film, ‘Dev’, is pivoted around a young man with a positive outlook in life-one who believes in living life to the fullest. He meets Meghna — a self- made business woman and a complete antithesis him. ‘Dev’ follows their lives and their relationship.

Ravishankar intended to make a small film first and then probably work with a star. But the script appealed to Karthi who immediately agreed to work with him.

Karthi plays Dev. Rakul Preet Singh is once again paired opposite him as Meghna.

“I have sketched Dev’s character from my life experiences. He is a positive young man who enjoys travelling and to support his journeys he works as a photographer. Dev is an open book who lives life to the fullest,” added the former associate of Tamil directors R Kannan and Saravanan.

On the other hand, Meghna, a creation of Ravishankar’s fantasy, is careful about the steps she takes in life. She does not trust anyone and is careful before taking on any risk.

“Meghna is a self-driven, work-oriented woman, who has made her empire from scratch,” elaborated Singh.

“She is always thinking of money, fame and success. It is a strong and well-written role. She does not let go of her emotions easily. While playing Meghna, I also had to make the audience feel for her and understand why she is behaving that way. Meghna is not wrong. The role is mutli-layered because of her experiences since she is raised by a single mother,” said Singh.

This is the second time Singh is working with Karthi.

“With some people you click well. Karthi is an easy person and talented. He listens to the other person’s inputs and that helps to create a magic on the screen,” said Singh.

About her director, Singh said, “I don’t think it matters whether it’s a new or old director. It’s the potential in the script that matters. I was new at some point and someone invested in me. Rajath is not at all like a first time director. He does not get flustered and was in control of every situation even those that are beyond our control like the Manali landslide. We had a reading before the filming and it made work easy.”

Sharing screen space with actress Ramya Krishnan who plays Meghna’s mother, Singh called her one of the finest actors. “I had a great time with her. She is a supportive co-actor.”

Prakash Raj plays Dev’s father, Ramalingam, a businessman. Actors Vignesh and Amritha play supporting characters too.

‘Dev’ was shot in Chennai, Hyderabad, Ukraine, Mumbai and Pune. Filming near the Rohtang Pass at a height of 8000ft was a challenge.

About the director

Ravishankar, who grew up in Bengaluru, quit engineering to pursue film direction at Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute, Kolkata, where his film dreams were whetted further.

An avid traveller, Ravishankar once a month will randomly hop onto the fifth bus that leaves the bus station and travels to its final destination. From his travels and interactions with acquaintances were born 200 plus characters and fodder for future scripts.

“People are happy to talk about themselves and their problems. I often found that many people give up on life,” said Ravishankar.

“‘Dev’ is not just about romance but also about loving the family and friends,” added Ravishankar. “It is about following your heart.”

Harris Jayaraj is the music composer. R Velraj has handled the camera.

‘Dev’ produced by Prince Pictures releases in UAE on February 14.