Remaking Delhi Belly was a herculean task: Settai director Kannan
News
oi-Prakash
By Ramchander
R
Kannan,
who
is
remaking
Hindi
superhit
film
Delhi
Belly
in
Tamil,
says
that
casting
right
names
was
a
challenging
experience
and
he
took
too
much
time
to
short-list
the
names.
"This
is
not
the
first
time
when
I
have
faced
this
situation.
Even
when
I
was
remaking
Jab
We
Met
in
Tamil,
I
spent
so
much
time
zeroing
in
on
the
cast," Kannan
told
IANS.
"However,
casting
for
Settai
was
most
challenging
because
initially
all
the
actors
were
sceptical
how
would
I
remake
the
film
for
Tamil
audience.
When
I
met
Arya
to
discuss
the
idea
of
the
film,
he
was
taken
aback
that
how
am
I
even
going
to
remake
the
original
without
using
any
cuss
word.
And
so
did
the
female
actors.
But
I
sat
down
with
them
and
explained
how
family-friendly
this
film
would
be,"
he
added.
So
how
did
you
convince
the
actors?
"Besides
all
the
double-meaning
dialogues
and
swearing
in
Delhi
Belly,
the
film
had
a
soul
about
friendship.
I
developed
the
story
in
Tamil
on
this
aspect
and
roped
in
three
actors
who
are
also
best
friends
in
real
life,"
he
said.
"I
didn't
have
to
struggle
much
with
the
shooting
part
because
all
I
had
to
do
was
make
my
actors
translate
their
real
friendship
on
screen,"
he
added.
The
film
stars
Arya,
Santhanam
and
Premgi
Amaren
in
the
lead
roles,
while
Anjali,
Hansika
Motwani
and
Nasser
are
also
part
of
the
cast.
Continue
reading
on
the
slideshow...
Settai
But
Settai
was
not
an
easy
remake.
"Besides
casting,
remaking
an
adult
comedy
for
Tamil
audience
was
a
herculean
task.
I
spent
close
to
20
months
working
on
the
script
because
the
core
audiences
here
are
youngsters
and,
therefore
the
film
had
to
be
made
in
such
a
way
that
it
draws
them
to
the
cinema
halls."
Settai
"We
don't
have
adult
audiences
per
se
to
patronise
adult
comedies,"
said
Kannan,
admitting
he
likes
challenging
remakes.
"I
don't
like
to
be
called
a
remake
specialist.
If
I
wish
to
work
on
a
remake,
then
I
choose
a
challenging
project
such
as
Taare
Zameen
Par.
I
would
never
give
in
to
remaking
a
commercial
film
because
it
doesn't
excite
me,"
he
said.
Settai
Shot
predominantly
in
Mumbai,
the
film
was
completed
in
70
days.
SS
Thaman
has
composed
the
music
for
the
film.
Settai
How
do
you
manage
expectations
in
a
remake?
"Honestly,
you
can't
manage
expectations
because
people
walk
in
a
predetermined
state
of
mind.
I
feel
remakes
shouldn't
be
compared
but
people
tend
to
do
so
and
we
can't
do
anything
about
it.
All
that
one
as
a
director
can
do
is
give
his
best
and
wait
for
the
result," he
said.
Produced
by
UTV,
Settai
releases
on
April
5.
Settai
Meanwhile,
Kannan
has
started
working
on
his
next
film's
script,
which
he
says
will
not
be
a
remake.