Blood Money, the upcoming Tamil film starring actor Priya Bhavani Shankar in the lead, is set to premiere on ZEE5 on December 24. The film’s teaser was released by actor Vishnu Vishal on social media on Wednesday.
Produced by Irfan Malik under the Emperor Entertainment banner, Blood Money is directed by filmmaker Sarjun KM, who last helmed the segment on valour, Thunindha Pinn, in the Netflix anthology Navarasa.
Speaking to Silverscreen India, Sarjun calls Blood Money a newsroom drama. “In Gulf countries, there is a law where if one murders someone or kills them by accident, the crime can be excused if the victim’s family accepts money as compensation. The law cannot punish the offender after that. This film is spun around this idea. Blood Money happens in Chennai but it follows a case in Kuwait and the Tamilians who are stranded there. The case comes to the newsroom and the film is about how they deal with it,” the filmmaker adds.
While Priya plays a journalist in the female-centric film, Kishore, who also featured in Thunindha Pinn, will be playing one of the stranded Tamilians. Panchu Subbu, newcomer Aravind Sundar, Shirish, and Srilekha are part of the cast as well.
The story of Blood Money is written by Sankar Dass. “The writer had given it to the platform and I was approached to direct it in December 2020. We were supposed to finish it during April, but due to the pandemic, we couldn’t travel,” Sarjun reveals.
The film, which went on floors in February, was finally wrapped up in October. It has been shot in Chennai, Dhanushkodi, and Azerbaijan by cinematographer G Balamurugan.
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Satish Raghunathan has composed the background score for Blood Money, which does not feature any songs. The 90-minute film is edited by Prasanna GK.
About working on OTT films, Sarjun says, “The good thing about OTT platforms is that they clearly draw lines between designations and I can serve as a director only. It is more like the Hollywood studio working style where the script is provided and it is only a matter of execution.”
Meanwhile, Sarjun has also finished an independent film on a social issue featuring actor Kalaiarasan. This film, whose title has not yet been announced, is being sent to international film festivals. He will also be helming a web series for Y Not Studios. This project is in its early stages.