Director-cum-cinematographer Bandi Sarojkumar, who debuted with Kishore-starrer Porkalam, is ready with his next movie titled Asthamanam. Just about one-and-a- half hours long, the adventure-thriller does not have songs.
“Porkalam was appreciated for its cinematography. Asthamanam will also have the same kind of treatment, but what we have attempted in terms of the storyline is completely different,” says Bandi Sarojkumar.
A group of six friends — four boys and two girls — go on a trekking trip into a forest and what they encounter there is what Asthamanam about. “Rajesh, who played villain in Porkalam, is playing one of the leads and there is another Rajesh, who was a runner-up in Vijay TV’s Azhagiya Tamizhmagan reality show,” informs the director. Asthamanam has been shot in forests in Tada and Thalakona. Bandi Sarojkumar is happy the trailer has got about 2 lakh hits on youtube.
While Porkalam released only in four screens in the city, Sarojkumar, who co-produced the movie with his friends, is planning to release it in about 25 screens in Chennai and suburbs on March 30.