For the shoot of director Radha Mohan’s Disney+Hotstar comedy miniseries Chutney Sambar, actor Nitin Sathyaa travelled to Ooty with a large ensemble cast. “We shot almost the entire series in Ooty, except for a few days of shoot in Chennai. The entire Ooty schedule was a lot of fun since all of us shared a good camaraderie. But the night shoots were tough on everyone since the temperatures dropped to 8 degree Celsius at night,” says Nitin Sathyaa.
The unit filmed in and around Ooty. “One particular night shoot at Glenmorgan was the coldest experience. Even the foreign tourists would visit that place only in summer, we were told. When we shot there, we realised why. Even though we were wearing multiple layers of clothing starting with warm innerwear, a T-shirt, shirt, sweater, and jacket, with an additional shawl and woollen headgear, our teeth would start chattering by 7 PM.” During the day, the atmosphere on sets was full of bonhomie all around. The actors would arrive on location by 6:30 AM and shoot till late evening. That gave them a lot of time to interact. “I have known Yogi Babu for over a decade, while Vani Bhojan was part of my production, Lock Up. Kayal Chandran is like a brother. So, it was like being with friends on the set. The entire cast would get together and bond over lunch. This camaraderie translated onto the screen.”
When they were not shooting, the actors and crew would play cricket on location. “Yogi Babu and I would get into fun, mock arguments over the score. I would tell him he could never win over me. He agreed that though he knew I was cheating somewhere, he couldn’t prove it. It was all part of the game and just added to the fun on sets,” laughs Nitin.
The actor feels that the main reason for the positive atmosphere on set was the presence of director Radha Mohan. “This is my first project with him. We got along very well right from our first meeting during script narration. I didn’t know he had such a wonderful sense of humour. He is wonderfully witty and light-hearted and a total stress buster to be around on sets. The locations were remote and there was no mobile network most times. But with Radha Mohan sir around, there was never a dull moment.”
The actor is also appreciative of Radha Mohan’s working style. “His comic sense is amazing and the dialogues he wrote were already witty. But any time there was any improvisation in dialogues between Yogi Babu and I, he would appreciate it and integrate the lines into the scenes. He gave us total freedom to perform.” About his first day of the shoot, Nitin Sathyaa says, “I’m returning to the screen after a long gap with Chutney Sambar. My first shot was at a beach house on the ECR in Chennai. But right from the word go, it didn’t feel like I was gone from acting. It all came back in a second. I owe it all to my mentor, director Vasanth, from whom I’ve learnt everything about acting.”
Signing off, he adds, “The all-round positivity, the way Radha Mohan sir tapped into the comic within me, and the party vibes on sets, has made Chutney Sambar a memorable experience.”