The film industry is unique in how the societal memory of an artist goes on to dictate the success of their subsequent work. In such conditions, it becomes imperative to keep churning out work, and coming back after a long sabbatical might as well mean that you’re making your debut again. Director M Saravanan, who turned heads with a solid Tamil debut (Engaeyum Eppothum), is at one such crossroads.
After a seven-year gap, Saravanan is back in action with Trisha’s upcoming action thriller, Raangi. The much-delayed film will finally hit the screens on December 30. Raangi is about Trisha’s Thaiyal Nayagi, a journalist with a fierce personality who, while investigating an issue that affects her personal life, ends up unravelling a larger conspiracy that takes her on a perilous journey across boundaries.
Addressing the elephant in the room — his long absence from films — Saravanan says, “After Valiyavan (2015) flopped, I went and did Chakravyuha in Kannada. Once I returned, my mentor AR Murugadoss sir suggested I work from his office. However, he noticed that I was taking too long to finish my script, and he gave me a storyline, which I fleshed it out into a screenplay. In fact, it was Murugadoss sir who suggested I take it to Lyca Productions.”
Barring an outlier like Thoongavanam, one might not be able to picture Trisha in a full-blown action role. However, Saravanan was clear about who should headline his Raangi. “Trisha was always my first option for the role of Thaiyal Nayagi. The story demanded someone who has to carry the maturity of a senior journalist but should also look young and bold.
She will go to any length to do what she believes is right. In fact, Raangi is nowadays used to denigrate an independent, resolute woman as arrogant and I want my film to change that. For such an endeavour, casting Trisha was a no-brainer.” Even though the film has Trisha, the star of some of the biggest romance films in the industry, Saravanan says he did not feel the need to attach a romantic angle because the story did not demand one. “Trisha does not have a romantic interest in the film but that does not mean the film doesn’t have romance in it.”
Saravanan explains that Raangi has a larger theme that works as a subtext to the main narrative. “A powerful person will always make sure that a person less powerful than them does not end up on top. We’ve seen this power struggle between people, communities, across social hierarchies, and in this film, we’ve shown it between two nations.” As a matter of fact, it was this part of the film, along with COVID restrictions, that ended up delaying the film’s release.
“The film’s commentary on international politics created problems for us at the censors. Although I wouldn’t say Raangi is a full-blown political thriller, the censors cautioned us against naming certain countries and organisations in the film,” says Saravanan, who vehemently disapproves of such censorship. “When something is reported in the news as a fact, I don’t understand why it can’t be shown in a film. Now, I’ll have to be extra careful before writing anything. This limits creativity, and even curbs the authenticity of our work.”
After a strenuous, two-year-long struggle to release the film, one would think Saravanan might take a well-deserved break. “I’ve taken one too many breaks,” the director chuckles before continuing, “I have trouble approaching people and my director (AR Murugadoss) knows this well, I guess that’s why he suggested I do this. I’ll just keep working on my scripts otherwise.”
When asked about his future plans, Saravanan is clear about his vision. “I don’t want to become repetitive, I’m always on the hunt for something new. I want to represent new kinds of people on screen,” says Saravanan, who ends the conversation by giving us an exciting tease about his next project, “Just like how my previous films were completely different from one another, my upcoming film Naadu with Big Boss-fame Tharshan will also be wildly different from my other films.”