Producer CV Kumar seems to be one of the busiest men in the industry. His 80s period flick Mundasuppatti is ready for release this June. However, Kumar is multitasking at a time when others would usually be busy with promotional work. Apart from overseeing the pre -release publicity of the joint venture with Fox Star Studios, he’s already planning ahead for his next few films. Known for his high success rate and choice of a variety of scripts, Kumar’s next is a crime drama.
“While Thegidi, which released earlier this year was a detective thriller, Mundasuppatti is a full-length comedy about two photographers (Vishnu Vishal and Kaali Venkat) who venture into a village for business. But they encounter resistance because the villagers believe their lives will be shortened if they have their photos taken. It’s a laugh riot. My next film is Sarabham, directed by Arun Mohan, son of actor Anumohan. He has assisted Gautham Vasudev Menon earlier. That’s going to be a crime drama,” says Kumar.
The recording and digital intermediate work of Sarabham is going on and will be completed in 10 days.
The film stars Naveen Chandra and Saloni. The recently released teaser has already garnered attention. So what’s the unusual title all about?
“Sarabham is a reference to the mythical Yali, a creature found in ancient architecture. It has a lion’s body with wings of a bird and is a symbol of freedom and power. These qualities are reflected in the hero, hence the title,” explains Kumar.
The crime drama is set in Chennai, with Naveen Chandra playing an architect.
This film, unlike Mundasuppatti, is not based on any short film. Kumar adds, “What drew me to the film was the unique script and screenplay. It’s going to be on the lines of a world-class movie experience for viewers. The entire making and camerawork will ensure that.”
The teaser clip shows Naveen Chandra hanging precariously, upside down, from a high building. Ask him about that and Kumar replies, “Yes , that was a dangerous shot and Naveen wanted to do it without any dupe. He hung upside down from the top railings of a 20-floor building, with just the cast members holding on to his feet for the shot.”
Kumar’s other film Lucia, starring Siddharth and Deepa Sannidhi, has also wrapped up and will release later this year.
What’s more, Kumar has already planned projects for 2015 and says, “I plan to release four films a year, so this year it’s Thegidi, Mundasuppatti, Sarabham and Lucia. For 2015, I have signed up directors Nalan Kumarasamy, Karthik Subbaraj and P Ramesh for now.” The busy bee is also doing the pre-production and casting of his debut directorial venture, which will go on floors this summer. With goals set and planning schedules in place, Kumar is in for some very busy days ahead.