Having demonstrated his penchant for unusual scripts, most notably, Cyanide and Attahasa, it is clear that director AMR Ramesh aims high, never settling for mediocrity and aiming only to deliver a hit. He stands out from the old and new bunch of directors, uncomprimising when it comes to scripts. His strong belief in indepth research for any of his projects is evident from the realism layered creatively into the tightly woven stories, accentuated with technical brilliance. The director is now ready with his upcoming film, Game, which revolves around a high-profile murder. Though he gives no hint of a connection with Sunanda Pushkar’s death, he talks passionately about the film.
Storyboard for Game
According to the director, it is the element of curiosity which draws him to a subject. “When a particular high-profile murder was making news, I delved into the subject and after a thorough investigation, I was convinced that Game was my next project. Of course, I had to take cinematic liberties,” says Ramesh.
He has also turned producer for the film, which is made under the banner Akshaya Creations and has spent Rs 9.5 crore. Although he took around eight years to bring out Cyanide and ten years for Attahasa, Game was completed in a comparatively shorter duration. “I sat for six months on the subject. I used to go to Shakleshpur at my partner’s guest house where I watched and read a lot about similar incidents and prepared myself, ” he says.
And appreciation seems to have come his way, beginning right from the women who watched the film at the Censor Board in the city and in Chennai. “The film is all about a woman and why she was killed. So, getting a positive feedback from women was satisfying,” he remarks.
The cast
Ramesh managed to rope in Arjun Sarja, Manisha Koirala and Shyam among others for the film and according to him, it was Aishwarya, Arjun’s daughter, who got the first reading. “I am grateful to Aishwarya who felt that it was the right subject for her father Arjun. When it came to casting someone to play the high-profile woman, I was thinking of Manisha or Tabu. Then, Arjun spoke to Manisha, who was awed by the character and that’s how she came on board. This is her comeback film after recovering from cancer,” he says and adds that it was Arjun again who thought Shyam would suit the role of playing Manisha’s husband. “Apart from them, we have Aqsa and Neha among others in the star cast. This film also sees me as an actor too,” he says.
The Technicians
Quiet particular about his technical team’s efficacy, Ramesh mentions that he could fortunately get the best technicians for the film, including music maestro
Ilayaraja and editor K V Krishna Reddy. “Krishna Reddy sat with me throughout the film because it was completely told from an editor’s point of view. He has edited films like Arundathi, Varsham and some well-known films. His expertise is quiet visible in the film. He edited at the drafting level itself,” he says.
Ramesh also roped in cinematographer Krishnasriram, who worked in films like Wanted, Tere Naam, and Oh My God! and was an assistant to Santhosh Sivan. “We took 60 days for the shoot and we used two Alexa XP cameras The DI took two months,” he reveals.
The magic of Ilayaraja
Ramesh insists that the background score was important for the script and none other than Ilayaraja could do justice to it. “I finished the dubbing and took it to Ilayaraja. He took 50 days for the re-recording and after watching the film with his work included, we felt that he had taken the film to another level. It is probably one of his best re-recordings I have seen after a long time,” he says.
The Rs 50 lakh forensic lab
Speaking about the need to erect a forensic lab, he reveals that although he had spotted an appropriate lab at BGS hospital, he did not want to shoot there because of the ensuing disturbance to them. “So we recreated a similar set in Bengaluru at a cost of ` 50 lakhs,” he says and adds that since the lead character is a high-end socialite, they had look for a posh house in Banashankari and Jayanagar. “We also shot at Movenpick, who charged Rs 2 lakh per day and we shot there for almost 12 days,” he adds.