Prabhu Solomon’s ‘Kayal,’ a love story set

Spectacular visuals that take your breath away and rustic stories told realistically mark a Prabhu Solomon film — remember Mynaa and Kumki? — and his next Kayal is no different.

In the Tamil film, Solomon will take viewers on a novel experience with Dolby Atmos sound.

Kayal is a love story set in a fishing village that is caught in the tsunami, and like his earlier two films, Solomon introduces a new actor into Tamil cinema.

Chandran makes his debut in the lead as Aaron, who “leads a nomadic life, eating whatever he finds. For six months he works and for the next six months he spends,” Chandran said.

Chandran’s acting dreams began with a portrayal of the German dictator Hitler in a high school play, a nickname that stuck after the play was forgotten.

However this postgraduate from the National Institute of Advertising, New Delhi, is still in disbelief.

“I am still in a daze. It was so strange sharing the dais with celebrities at the audio launch ceremony of Kayal, in the very same hall, where I dreamt of cinema,” said Chandran, remembering happy times when he bunked classes to watch films at Sathyam, (a popular Cineplex of Chennai).

He is paired opposite Telugu actor Rakshitha, who has been rechristened Anandhi for Kayal.

But nothing prepared him for the rigours of the role, the debutant actor said. The shooting schedule in Meghalaya had him and the rest of the crew up at three in the morning and for a trek up a mountain range to reach the location, Nongriat.

Some portions of the film were shot in Ponneri, a town north of Chennai, on huge sets where waves were simulated.

“Standing in knee-length water from six in the morning to six in the evening was not easy,” said Chandran who lost 15 kilos and trained in gymnastics for stunt sequences that had him jumping out of a moving train. And to top it all, he also had to deal with a foot infection.

As for working with Solomon, he said it was a “great learning experience”.

“Sometimes Prabhu sir explained a scene leaving it to my imagination to bring out my character. But, when it came to emotional scenes, his narration made me cry. He is a perfectionist who is also patient with his actors.”

Look out for the climax scene which is laden with emotion and comprises around 2,000 artistes.

As he stares back at himself on the posters of Kayal, Chandran can’t wait for the film’s release. Produced by Escape Artists Motion Pictures, Kayal, was also shot in Rajasthan, Cherapunji, Leh and Ladakh.

D. Iman scored the music while Vetrivel Mahendran is the cinematographer.

The film holds Solomon’s penchant for verdant vegetation, rainy moments captured between frames and cascading waterfalls as he showcases nature in all its glory, while telling a poignant story.

Kayal releases in the UAE on December 25.