Last seen in Savarakathi, alongside director Ram and Mysskin, Poorna will next appear in the role of an Assistant Commissioner of Police in debutant director T Ranganathan’s social thriller, Blue Whale.
Talking about the film, the director says, “Blue Whale revolves around the mysterious disappearance of a young boy after he starts playing a dangerous online game without the knowledge of his parents.”
Ranganathan apparently took inspiration from the online phenomenon of the same name, that first surfaced in early 2016, which consisted of a series of tasks assigned to players by administrators over a 50-day period, initially innocuous before introducing elements of self-harm, with the final challenge requiring the player to commit suicide. “Though many suspicious deaths were reported during that period, the authorities were not successful in categorically linking many of the casualties with the game. I have attempted to incorporate these elements into my film,” he says.
Ranganathan also adds that Blue Whale will underline the irony behind the recent propensity of parents to get caught in a mechanical rat-race in a bid to secure their children’s futures, only to end up ignoring them. “When kids, who are overburdened by a demanding education system, return home to find that they have no one to share their worries with, they turn to such dangerous games on the internet for distraction,” he reasons.
The film, which is currently in post-production, stars Kabish Khanna as the young boy, with Birla Bose and Divya playing his parents. Poorna plays the ACP who investigates the trail of clues left behind by the boy. Ranganathan says that he zeroed in on Poorna after being impressed with her performance as a cop in Malayalam film, Oru Kuttanadhan Blog.
Poorna will be seen as a cop again in Vemel’s Ivanukku Engeyo Macham Irukku, and plays an extended cameo in the Jayam Ravi-starrer Adanga Maru. Blue Whale, produced by D Mathu, is expected to get a release early next year.