Little do people know that Kolamaavu Kokila director Nelson’s career began with him helming reality shows for Vijay TV. When Silambarasan came in as a judge for the show Jodi No 1, the director and the actor bonded well and did a film together called Vettai Mannan. Lamentably, the film was stalled for reasons best known to the team, lying in cold storage till date.
“I don’t know what the problem was. It just didn’t happen,” says Nelson. “It took me a few days to come out of it, and concentrate on other things." Nelson then took time out from his TV commitments to work on a few scripts, which he believed would see the light of the day. Few weeks into the process, an instinctive idea set the wheels of Kolamaavu Kokila in motion, and the film is set for its worldwide release as the director’s debut on Friday.
After penning the script in six months, Nelson met Nayanthara who instantly agreed to be a part of the film. Looking at the promos of Kolamaavu Kokila, one can instantly sense that it will be a mix of many genres. Ask him about it, and Nelson says, “You cannot actually fit it into a single genre. At baseline, it is a fusion of crime, comedy and emotional drama. Of course, it will have its own share of high moments as well."
With the core of the film revolving on the transportation of narcotics, Kolamaavu Kokila could have well be done with a hero in the lead. But Nelson had other ideas and he says, “If I had done this film with a hero, it would have gone on to become a regular one. Right from the start, I had plotted the script as a woman-centric story alone. This way, I could cover more ground and showcase vulnerabilities.”
“In a hero-driven industry like ours, it is not easy to bring up a woman-centric film and excite the audience. Obviously, films with male stars have a bigger reach. But when a woman actor is approached with a script in which she is the central character, she will definitely find a liking and feel good about it. It’s high time that women prove that they too can carry the entire load of a script themselves, and execute it right. As directors, we should be careful about our paperwork. Ultimately, only good content works,” he adds.
Of late, producers in Kollywood are brave enough to bring out the song visuals from their films before the release, in order to create a buzz amidst the audience. However, the team of Kolamaavu Kokila has gone a step ahead in arriving at original promotional videos for the peppy songs composed by Anirudh Ravichander. Following 'Kabiskabaa' and 'Thittam Poda Theriyala', the yet-to-be-launched promo video of 'Gun-In Kadhal' will feature Nayanthara herself along with the composer.
Speaking about the strategy, Nelson says, “In the film, our songs are connected to the story and it would be wrong to reveal it before the release. So, we decided to go ahead with original videos which are a rarity in Tamil cinema these days. This way, it becomes easier for the music to get registered in the minds of the audiences.”
Nelson also reveals the reason behind Vignesh Shivn coming on board to direct the last two videos. “During the final stages of the edit, it was tough to shift my focus from one quarter to another. So we decided to outsource the job of these videos to another director. Since Vignesh Shivn is a common friend of both Anirudh and myself, we pitched it to him and he instantly agreed. It’s teamwork, after all.”