Director
Gautham
Ramachandran
describes
the
scripting
process
of
his
maiden,
yet-untitled
Tamil
directorial,
featuring
popular
Malayalam
actor
Nivin
Pauly
as
one
"hell
of
a
writing
session".
"In
June
2015,
we
had
set
up
an
office
in
Chennai,
and
since
then
we've
been
working
on
the
script.
It
took
us
nearly
40
drafts
over
a
period
of
nine
months
to
finally
lock
the
script.
It
was
one
crazy,
hell
of
a
writing
session," Gautham
told
IANS.
The
team,
however,
is
very
happy
with
the
final
draft
of
the
script.
"The
effort
we
have
put
in
has
paid
off,"
says
the
lawyer-turned-filmmaker,
admitting
that
they
couldn't
have
pulled
it
off
without
Nivin's
contribution.
"Till
a
few
days
ago,
we
were
making
changes
to
the
script.
Nivin
was
very
actively
involved
in
the
scripting
stage
and
he's
the
sort
of
actor
who
has
a
great
eye
for
details
and
understands
all
the
appreciation
moments
of
a
scene,"
he
said,
adding
that
Nivin
doesn't
stop
until
he
gets
what
he
wants
from
a
project.
Explaining
about
Nivin's
involvement,
Gautham
shared:
"While
working
on
the
last
draft,
recently,
Nivin
sat
through
one
whole
day
--
from
morning
to
night
--
and
finalised
everything.
My
team
was
shocked
by
his
commitment
and
his
passion
towards
the
project".
The
film
was
speculated
to
be
made
in
Tamil
and
Malayalam
as
a
bilingual,
but
Gautham,
a
former
associate
of
film-maker
Mysskin,
denied
such
reports.
"Nivin
insisted
we
make
the
film
only
in
Tamil.
We
were
supposed
to
work
in
the
past
and
back
then
he
gave
me
an
option
to
work
in
Malayalam.
However,
I
wasn't
comfortable.
So,
Nivin
suggested
we
wait
for
the
right
project
to
work
in
Tamil,"
he
said,
adding
that
they've
known
each
other
for
about
four
years.
"After
'Neram',
I
had
run
a
few
ideas
past
him.
We
didn't
get
the
right
platform
to
collaborate
these
last
few
years,
but
this
time
almost
all
the
departments
fell
in
place
for
this
project,"
said
Gautham.
The
film
is
based
on
critically-acclaimed
Kannada
thriller
Ulidavaru
Kandanthe.
"We've
taken
a
few
elements
from
the
original
and
weaved
a
new
story
around
it.
It's
not
a
frame-to-frame
remake.
Since
the
director
of
that
movie
is
a
close
friend,
we
decided
to
buy
the
remake
rights
and
adapt
it,"
he
said.
Contrary
to
rumours,
Varalaxmi
Sarath
Kumar
is
not
the
leading
lady.
The
makers
have
a
few
options
including
a
newcomer.
The
project
will
go
on
the
floors
from
mid-May,
and
the
technical
crew
features
mostly
Gautham's
close
friends.
Cinematographer
Pandi
Kumar
was
his
roommate
in
film
institute,
while
editor
Atul,
art
director
Jaya
and
music
composer
Ajaneesh
Loknath
are
his
pals.
The
film's
producers,
Anand
Kumar
and
Vinod
Shornur,
are
Nivin's
close
friends.
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