Most sports genre films in the Indian film industry or even in the Tamil industry will always head towards a climax featuring an individual's success story or a social drama embedded in the sport. With Angikaaram, debut director Thenpathiyan attempts to drive the genre inside a courtroom. "Angikaaram is not about one person's struggle and pursuit towards glory; my hero is a representative of the hapless athletics fraternity in India," says Thenpathiyan.
Thenpathiyan says that while even a minor cricket tournament gets great attention, athletes are not even relegated to a footnote. "I hail from what is called a sports village near Mannargudi in Thanjavur district. I grew up with several athletes there. It was a depressing discovery for me to learn that many of them were medallists in reputed international events but the reception they are accorded is underwhelming. Forget about the reception, people aren't even aware of the feats they have achieved. It needs to be told to the rest of the world that these people are merely surviving, and not thriving. This ignorance has disturbed me a lot," he expresses his grouse.
Elaborating on the protagonist's character in the film, Thenpathiyan says he has not designed him as a revolutionary who turns things around but a mere everyman who is conditioned through a lot of common hardships. "I bet you will know someone in your circle or at least someone who you would have heard of who is pursuing a sport passionately and not getting due recognition, especially if the sport is not a cash cow. You may have been myopic and reduced this conundrum to a sportsperson's problem. Angikaaram will take you on an introspective journey to question why this is not everyone's problem," he believes.
Opening up on how producer KJ Rajesh turned lead actor for Angikaaram, Thenpathiyan says, "Our producers wanted to cast a fresh face as the lead. I was in contact with KJR sir and he expressed interest in the story. As a testimony to his passion, he attained the physique I envisioned for the lead by putting in eight months of work. I sincerely believe he is a great addition to the team. He has made such great efforts even though the film is essentially a courtroom drama. Angikaaram will not be a run-of-the-mill sports film. But it will be a sports political drama that discusses the politics that takes place off the racing track."
He credits his stint as an assistant director with Pa Ranjith as pivotal for his vision in filmmaking. "I have worked with Ranjith sir in Kaala and the pre-production of his adaptation of the tribal hero Birsa Munda. The one thing I grasped from him is his uncompromised attitude in storytelling. Secondly, he confidently assigns challenging tasks to his assistants. Kaala had several scenes with thousands of junior artists. Without a second thought, he assigned handling 3000 junior artists to his assistant. Delegation of duties and working with collaborative effort is also a lesson I learnt from him before I turned director," he adds.
Produced by Mumbai-based Swastik Visions, Angikaaram, which is in its last leg of production, also stars Sindhoori Vishwanath, Viji Venkatesh, Antony, Rangaraj Pandey, Mohan Ram and Mansoor Ali Khan. Composer Ghibran Vaibodha, stunt director Peter Hein, editor San Lokesh and art director Ramu Thangaraj are part of the film's technical crew.