Having proved his mettle with children’s films and romantic comedies, director Pandiraj is now confident that he will score big in the action genre as well. No wonder then his next film, Kathakali, which stars Vishal and Catherine Tresa in the lead, is an action thriller and is all set to hit the screens for Pongal.
“After Pasanga 2 (2015), this is an action-thriller — a different film based on a real life incident, which took place in my friend’s life. It’s an edge-of-the-seat thriller that we shot in a matter of just 65 days,” explains Pandiraj.
Recalling the initial days of this new project, he says, “Director Suseenthiran put me in touch with Vishal. I narrated two scripts to him, thinking he would select the other script. But to my surprise, he chose this one, as he was impressed with the story.”
There are only two songs in the entire film. “Actually, we don’t have a song in the second half. In fact, Catherine Tresa, who will be seen in Kathakali after her stellar performance in Madras (2014), will be seen in the film for only 40 minutes. She plays the role of Meenu Kutty, a pharmacist,” says the director.
Sources close to unit of the film , which is scheduled for release on January 14 in both Tamil and Telugu, say that the film is a murder mystery.
Actor Vishal says, “A murder takes place and soon after, a sort of guessing game follows as nobody knows who has committed the act. All through the film, it will rain. This is to create the ideal mood for this plot. The entire story happens in just a day and the film has several night sequences. ”
But why name an action film Kathakali? “Youngsters these days use this term colloquially in Tamil to refer to an angry protest of some sort. So, we thought that this would be an apt title for this film. It has nothing to do with traditional (Kerala) dance,” says Pandiraj.
Pandiraj’s Connection With Mobile Phones
As in other Pandiraj films, in Kathakali a mobile phone is used to take the story forward. A phone call changes a man’s life in a random way. Music director Adhi travelled to Netherlands for the re-recording of Kathakali. The story begins in Chennai and ends in Cuddalore.