The strength of the film is its cast

Debutant director Manoj Beedha is confident that his film

Vanjagar Ulagam

will strike the right chord with the audience. A romantic thriller, the film is in its post-production stage now. “This is a genre that Kollywood has not explored much. I’ve infused the story with gangster elements, and the story revolves around different people from different sections of the society,” he says.

While Manjoj says that the script of his film is quite strong, the cast is its strength. “My friend Vinayak, who had assisted Vignesh ShivN, and I worked on the script for almost one-and-a-half years. Rodrigo Del Rio Herrera, a Mexican cinematographer with whom I studied in New York, is handling the cinematography and the visuals are truly out of the world. There are both newcomers and established actors playing pivotal roles. Cibi and Vishakan Vanangamudi have done a fabulous job. Tollywood girl Anisha Ambrose and Chandini Tamilarasan play the female leads. We’ve also roped in the director of Lens, JP, for an important character. I’ve been a huge fan of Azhagam Perumal since Pudhupettai and I was keen to cast him as well,” says the filmmaker, adding, “Guru Somasundaram plays a gangster in the film. We actually didn’t write the character keeping him in mind, but I was so glad when he came on board. He is a stage actor and has a lot of potential. There was a 6-minute shot which he finished in just one take. His assistant, who is a good friend of mine, told me, ‘Machan, one more keluda, or else he will feel bad.’ But when that first take itself was so perfect, I didn’t feel the need to ask for a retake. After he came on board, we revisited his character and made some changes.”

Ask Manoj why he chose to debut with a grim subject instead of a tried and tested formula films, and he says, “When you have people trusting your instincts and willing to back you, I don’t see why you should not try something new. Also, audiences today are more accepting and crave bold subjects.”