Debutant director Sarathy says his upcoming film Kaaviyan is inspired by the murders of Indian IT professionals in the United States. Produced by KV Sabarish, the film, which hits the screens this week, was shot in Las Vegas over 45 days.
The entire crew of the film consists of just 32 members, including actors Shaam, Athmeya, L Srinath, and debutante Sridevi Kumar.
Three Hollywood actors were also part of the crew, and Sarathy says the foreign actors were very helpful. “We benefited immensely from the inputs of these Hollywood actors, who were happy to render all sorts of assistance.”
Sarathy recounts a rather scary incident that took place when they were filming in the US. “While we were on location, an actual shoot-out happened on the 24th floor of the same building. We were unaware of this until after we were done. That shows how bad the situation is over there.”
The director believes the shootings of Indians in the US are mainly hate crimes. “For the uninitiated, these incidents may look like random tragedies, but the truth is there is hatred towards Indians who work in these white collar jobs.”
Sarathy wanted the focus of his film to be squarely on the issue at hand and thus passed on the chance to shoot a dance number in Las Vegas. “I didn’t want any unnecessary distractions as my film is a thriller,” he says, adding that he has done his best to present the facts through Kaaviyan.