Saravana Rajendran, an erstwhile assistant of writer-director Raju Murugan, is making his directorial debut with upcoming Tamil film Mehandi Circus. The film’s title and first look poster were released recently.
To be produced by Studio Green, the film has music by Sean Roldan. Speaking to Times of India, Rajendran has revealed that the film features real-life circus performers in key roles.
He also said that the story revolves around the relationship between a guy living in Kodaikanal and a circus performer. “There are two backdrops to this film — the circus and a musical centre (that relic of the 1980-90s, where people went to record songs on to cassette tapes), and the story happens in the 1990s and in 2010,” said the director. He also said that while the film starts off as a romance, it then moves into a painful area involving relationships.
The film marks the Tamil debut of Bollywood actress Shweta Tripathi, best known for her work in films such as Masaan and Haraamkhoor. Coimbatore-based Rangarajan is being introduced as the hero.
“Apart from the principal cast, we have roped in real-life circus performers to play the other characters that are part of the circus,” said Rajendran, who added that Shweta had to train with a circus performer to act in a scene that involves a life-threatening stunt. “It is a crucial plot point, so I cannot reveal what it is. We could find only one person in Tamil Nadu who was an expert in the act and got this person to train Shweta.”
Cuckoo and Joker fame Raju Murugan has written the story and dialogues. Apart from assisting Raju Murugan, Rajendran has also worked with Kamal Haasan and late filmmaker Balu Mahendran. The film also stars RJ Vignesh, Vela Ramamoorthy, Ankur Vikal and Sunny Charles in important roles.
(Content provided by Digital Native)