After almost 25 years in the advertisement film industry, veteran filmmaker Jayendra makes his directorial debut with ‘180’.
The number ‘180’ sounds unique. What does it mean?
“Yes. ‘180’ is a unique title. People ask me if it is 180 degrees or 180 days. It’s just 180. The number plays an integral part of the story,” explains Jayendra and adds, “After watching the film, the audience will appreciate the title and justify it.”
The acclaimed ad filmmaker, along with cinematographer PC Sreeram, started JS Films in 1986 and has made numerous ad films. A bilingual (Tamil and Telugu) project, ‘180’ stars Siddharth, Nithya Menon and Priya Anand.
“Cinema was always on my mind. When I completed this script, I gave it to Siddharth, whom I know for a long time now. He loved the script and we began the shooting. ‘180’ is not just another love story, it has strong story content,” says Jayendra.
The film was shot both in Tamil and Telugu. “It will definitely be annoying to see a dubbed version. There are factors such as nativity and nuances of the language, so we shot in both the languages,” he explains.
When a film is made by an ad filmmaker, breathtaking visuals are a given. Jayendra concurs and adds, “Yes, it’s a visual film. Cinematographer Balasubramanium has cranked up the camera. He has come from the school of PC Sreeram. I know him from the time he started and the output is extraordinary. We used a Red One 4k camera. It helps to increase your creative options.”
Sharreth scored the music for this film. “He’s a well-known name in the Malayalam film industry,” he says. “But he’s just one-film-old in Tamil and Telugu respectively. After a long time, with this film he’s coming back. ‘180’ has a very different music and I’m very sure that the film’s songs will be a hit.”
Jayendra is a pioneer in introducing new technology to the Tamil film industry. His company, Real Image Media Technologies, has introduced the Digital Theatre Systems (DTS) sound in theatres.
Talking about it, Jayendra points out, “Our country was in a different economic period then. But now technologically, we’re dramatically improving. The audiences have experienced DTS sound and they’re welcoming the technology.”
The ad filmmaker-turned-feature filmmaker is now eagerly waiting his first directorial outing, ‘180’, that is slated to release in May this year.