It is not without reason that Vasanthabalan’s Aravaan is eagerly awaited. The man, after all, has delivered three critically acclaimed films, back-to-back. His fourth flick Aravaan (after Album, Veyil, and Angaadi Theru), a period film, he says, will enable him ‘to jump to the next level altogether’. The film, a vast portion of which has been completed (almost 95 per cent), has only patchwork left.
“The idea for the plot sprung when one night I was reading a book on 300 years of Madurai. It was a huge book with nearly 4,500 pages. Su Venkatesan’s novel Kaaval Kottam, and a very small incident in it was what led to the idea that then got developed into the plot of my next script.”
Continues he, “Thereafter, I researched for about a year. There were hardly any books or records that I could use as reference material to know about the lifestyle of the people in Madurai in the 18th century. All reference material only gave an insight about the royalty and not about the common man. It was only after the 19th century that we could see photographs. The only evidences available were in terms of sculptures. I got in touch with Krishnamoorthy and G V Iyer, the veteran art directors, who have worked in period flicks in 1978. Their inputs helped me a lot. The film is a period flick but has commercial elements in it.”
The director also adds,
“The two-and-and-a-half hour film will be gripping from start to finish. Generally, the perception that people have of period films is that it is slow.”
Ask him what made him cast Aadhi as the hero and he replies, “I watched Aadhi’s performancee in Mirugam and Eeram and liked it. His height was a plus because I have read that our forefathers used to be very tall and with a well-built frame. Aadhi is six- and-a-half feet tall and has a good physique. He has just the right complexion I wanted for my character. To me, Aadhi is Aravaan and he just fits the bill,” he says.
“I suggested that he should have an eight-pack for which he asked me for six months time. Aravaan means someone who has all the good qualities of an ideal man,” says Vasanthabalan. “Pasupathy with a four-pack fits the character of Kombuti.” The director says that Aravaan is a story about the life of a simpleman.
In terms of art direction, Vijaymurugan has left no stone unturned. “Two villages had to be created for the script because it focusses on the rivalry between two villages.”
Singer Karthik is being introduced as music director with Aravaan and the director is all praise for his music. The music is a blend of periodical and contemporary sounds. Some of the tunes were recorded in Australia. We have tried incorporating live music in this as well . For instance, the didgeridoo, a wind instrument from Australia invented around 1,500 years ago, has been used in some of the songs. ”
The film seems to be taking quite a while. Vasanthabalan signs off, “We needed a 60-day break in between four schedules which were of 20 days, 15 days, 30 days and 40 days each.”