Director Meera Kathiravan, who forayed into K-Town with his critically acclaimed film, Aval Peyar Tamilarasi, which even received a standing ovation at the Dubai International Film Festival, is now all set to start his second project.
Work on his second film, is in all probability, bound to begin by December-end this year and this time, Meera Kathiravan says his film will be a musically-oriented, city-based, romantic commercial film, set about 10 years in advance.
Throwing light on the same, Kathivaran says, “After doing a film with a rural-based theme, I do not want to deal with a rustic theme again. I had two projects in mind – one was a period flick and the other was had an ultra-modern theme. I have chosen the one with the ultra-modern theme for my second film and have reserved the period flick for my third project.”
Giving out more details of his film, he says, “My second film will revolve around the Gen-Y way of life. People of this generation believe in enjoying life but when it comes to commitments, they shy away from them. We see this trend even today. I want to, through the film, portray to what extent this trend would have grown in popularity in a few years time from now,” he says.
“I have plans for the period flick also. It will be my third project and deal with a tribal saga set in the 1600s. It ends with the freedom speeches made by Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in 1947,” he reveals.
Meera Kathiravan, who believes that a director should be a director first, has roped in noted author JP Chanakya to pen the script of his second film. “He is a good friend of mine and I have known him closely for more than 10 years now. There are many directors who, apart from directing their films, also write the story, screenplay and dialogues but I believe that when one has talented people to perform different tasks, one can and must concentrate on the one thing that actually is their task, in my case, direction. This way, one gets fresh ideas as well,” he says.
The director is waiting for the casting to get over and finalise and register the
title of the film.
“I am planning to make this a bilingual – Tamil and Telugu. If possible, I will make it in Hindi as well as the subject is a universal one. A noted Malayalam producer is producing this film. Right now, talks are on with a popular hero who fits the bill, both in Tamil and Telugu. However, if his dates clash, then we might rope in a noted playback singer from Chennai to play the lead. There are three heroines in the film, but it is not a love triangle or quadrangle as people might think. One is a well-wisher, another a friend and one a lover,” he says.
“The character of the hero is called Gokul Krishnan. He is a musician and a piano player and the heroines are called Benitta, Janu and Pavithra. It is for the character of Pavithra that I have conducted a screen test for more than 150 girls. However, none of them fit the character,” he says.
Although the story is based in Chennai and a lot of sequences will be shot here, there are scenes and songs that are to be shot in the Goa and Bali islands of Indonesia.
Music being a highlight of the film, Meera Kathiravan is on the lookout for a suitable composer. He will be introducing an avid short film maker, Manigandan, as cinematographer although the latter is also directing his own film. “His short film titled Wind made waves at the Canadian film festival,” he says.