CHENNAI : Actor Naveen Chandra was excited to begin shooting for his Tamil film, Evidence, ever since he heard the script from director RDM. Interestingly the film marks his reunion with Sasikumar, almost a decade after Bramman. “Sasi sir hasn’t changed a bit. He is still the same kind, humble, and encouraging person. We play brothers in the film and our off-screen bond translated well in the film too,” shares a visibly happy Naveen, who goes on to reveal that he plays an interesting character in the film.
“Both the story and my character in it are interesting, and apart from Sasi sir, I had an impressive bunch of co-stars like Kasthuri Raja and Yogi Babu. So, even the thought of being on sets each day with them was exciting.”
Naveen had several combination scenes with Yogi Babu as well. “His film Mandela is among my favourites. Watching his timing and dialogue delivery up close was fantastic. During breaks, food was a common topic of discussion between us,” he shares.
Apart from Chennai, a part of the film was shot in Ooty, during the rainy season. “It was very cold. The rains were unpredictable. When it was raining we waited patiently for it to subside. However, when we started shooting, it began to pour all over again. The slippery ground and slush made the action scenes tough to execute as well. Luckily no mishap happened as the stunt choreographer had made good safety arrangements for us.”
Since the Ooty schedule was after the release of his film Jigarthanda Double X, Naveen was pleasantly surprised when people in his Ooty hotel recognised him. “They called me by my screen name Rathna and told me, ‘sorry, but we hated you sir’. They were surprised to find me to be very different in real life,” he laughs.
At a point, Naveen had only four days of call sheet left for Evidence during his last schedule and he had to join another shoot in Hyderabad. However, the non-stop rains made the process challenging. “The constant rains pushed us to shoot longer hours. I shot till the last minute and left by road for Coimbatore just one and a half hours before my flight. I made it to the flight just three minutes before boarding. It was a close shave.”
The bitter cold also made things tougher for the actors. “Luckily I had to wear a denim jacket in my scenes, which protected me from cold winds. During the stunt scenes, I had to ensure that my blood circulation was high and the body warm.”
But the cold environment did take a toll on him after all. “ Before arriving in Ooty, I had shot for other films for seven days, in the cold mountain areas of the Western Ghats around Thekkady, Munnar, and Wayanad. So I had gotten accustomed to the cold by the time I reached Ooty. But despite all precautions, after I landed in Hyderabad, I got a high fever due to the weather changes. But working with the wonderful team of Evidence made everything worth it.”