Debutant filmmaker Chandru KR says he has made Bodhai Yeri Budhi Maari as an audience member. “After school, I couldn’t pursue cinema because of personal reasons. But the spell cinema had cast on me, never faded away. I watch about five to six films in the theatre, every week. Oru audience ah edhulam enaku pidichiruko adhelam vechruken,” he says as we talk about his debut film, which is about to get released this week.
Starring Dheeraj, Pradhiyini Surva, and Mime Gopi, Chandru calls his BYBM a multi-genre film. “The movie will have elements from several genres — horror, thriller, action, and emotional drama. After the interval, there are about four intense action sequences. It’s a proper commercial entertainer.” He adds that he was hesitant to approach bigger actors as he lacks formal experience in filmmaking.
However, everybody he approached for the film supposedly agreed to come on board immediately, as they liked the concept. “There are experienced technicians and actors like Radha Ravi, Mime Gopi, and others,” says Chandru. He incidentally met Radha Ravi when he was working for an airline. “I met Radha Ravi sir as a passenger. Back then, he had told me he would act in my film when I told him about my short films. He immediately agreed when I approached him for BYBM,” he says.
Even while making BYBM, Chandru didn’t leave his aviation career, which proved to be a supportive ground for his filmmaking desires. “I started making training videos for the airline company I worked for. And thus, even though my job was to fly, they sent me to Mumbai to edit them. I took a sabbatical from work to shoot for BYBM. Unfortunately, the company has now shut down,” he says.
Meera Mithun, who is currently making waves, thanks to her on-going stint in Bigg Boss Tamil, is part of the film as well. However, Chandru believes that he will not need such mileage post-release. “If the film gets released, I am confident that I wouldn’t need all this.
But pre-release, if it helps in marketing, then I have to thank Meera.” He also says that she agreed to do the role while several others declined. “She was sure that she wanted to play only lead roles, but she agreed to this role because it was challenging. Even though her role is a small one, the character comes at a crucial juncture in the film,” he signs off.