Nakkalites-fame Rajeshwar Kalisamy is all set to make his feature film directorial debut with a family entertainer headlined by Manikandan. The film, which went on floors today, also marks the Tamil debut of Telugu actor Saanve Megghana.
Opening up about the film’s storyline, director Rajeshwar says, “Adventure-driven stories are mostly used in the action or thriller genres. I want to explore it in a family entertainer with a middle-class youngster at the centre of things.”
Manikandan and family entertainers seem to be a successful combination, especially with the critical and commercial acclaim for his Good Night, which was released earlier this year. “While Good Night was more of a drama, this film will be a comedy-adventure film. The film will cater to the sensibilities and expectations of our Nakkalites audience.”
Apart from Manikandan and Saanve, the yet-to-be-titled film also has Guru Somasundaram playing a key role. Explaining his casting choices, Rajeshwar says, “Manikandan had mostly played serious roles before Good Night. But way before Good Night, his sense of humour was amply established from his YouTube channel. As a fan of his channel’s content, I have been wanting to work with him on a comedy film. I loved Saanve’s performance from Pitta Kathalu and found her to be perfect for my character. Guru Somasundaram will be playing a grey shade, but it will not be very dark because at the end of the day, my film is a comedy.”
Rajeshwar shares writing credits with his Nakkalites co-founder and actor Prasanna Balachandar. “We started working on this story back in 2017. We have always wanted to enter the industry as a writer-director duo,” says Rajeshwar, who reminisces how Prasanna’s vast life experiences and reading habits came in handy for not just Nakkalites but this project too.
Backed by S Vinothkumar’s Cinemaakaran banner, the yet-to-be-titled project comprises a technical team of cinematographer Sujith Subramaniam, editor Kannan, and music composer Vaisagh Rajeshwar reveals that the film will only be shot in and around Coimbatore. “We don’t have any extravagant sets planned for the film. It will just feature a few landscapes of the city,” says the filmmaker, adding, “We have planned for one long schedule, and might add more as required.”