Director Ramdev is awaiting the release of his debut film, Pazhagiya Naatkal, in theaters this Friday. An assistant to directors Tamilvanan and A Venkatesh, Ramdev recalls the struggles along his cinematic journey and how his mother handed him her life savings with her blessings.
He claims his film will be different from the usual romantic tale. “It begins with a teen romance between students, which is dismissed as infatuation by their respective parents. Then, in a turn of events, the girl achieves her dream of becoming a doctor. Her boyfriend, though, is not able to accept that she is more successful than him and begins harassing her. The girl does not take this lying down,” he says.
Ramdev goes on to say the film includes a professor who drives some sense into the hero, adding a new dimension to the tale. He has also woven in a Supreme Court verdict in a similar incident where the man sought compensation for the money he had spent on the girl.
“The verdict comes in his favour. The censors were a little hesitant to allow that scene, but we managed to convince them,” the director says. Meeran, who plays the male lead, was looking for chances as a music composer when Ramdev chanced to meet him.
“In addition to his looks, his Tamil fluency made it an easy decision for me. We zeroed in on Meghna for the female lead after a lot of auditions.”
Two cinematographers (Manivannan and Philip Vijayakumar) and three music composers (John Alexis, Manithan, and the lead, Meeran) have worked in Pazhagiya Naatkal.
“It’s true there are no big names,” Ramdev admits. “But I feel we have a winner of a climax that women in the audience will relate to.”