Annapoorni, the upcoming Tamil film starring actors Lijomol Jose and Losliya Mariyanesan, is a women-centric thriller set in contemporary Chennai, says director Lional Joshua, who is making his debut with the film.
Launched with an inaugural ceremony last week, Annapoorni is jointly produced by Hari Baskar of KH Pictures and Nethaji of ODO Pictures.
Lional has a background as a musician and has worked as an assistant director on the film Gorilla. Speaking to Silverscreen India about his directorial debut, he says, “Annapoorni is based on the relationship between a husband and a wife. A tragedy strikes the life of the newly-wed couple and is the main focus of the film.”
Although the story is about a couple and involves multiple characters, it is primarily told from a female point of view, adds the filmmaker, who has also written the script of Annapoorni. “I had initially set the film from a man’s point of view, but I was inspired by the book Fearless Freedom by Kavita Krishnan to change that. The book prompted me to switch over to a female perspective,” he says.
Lional further mentions that Lijomol plays the main lead character of the wife, with Losliya playing the second female lead. Hari Krishnan, who is known for his role in Madras (2014), essays the husband. “All of them play important roles, though the female characters are pivotal to the plot. The story revolves around women in a man’s world. Lijomol’s character Poorni is an enthusiast of food and cooking, while Losliya plays a painter named Anna. Given the element of food in the lead’s characterisation and their two names, I titled the film Annapoorni,” he states.
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“Lijomol plays a character from Thanajvur, and I found her apt for the role. Losliya, on the other hand, plays an artist from a city background. Annapoorni discusses the difference between these two classes, along with the politics within relationships,” the director adds.
Aside from the leads, Dharani Reddy, Rajeev Gandhi, and Vairabalan also play prominent roles in the film.
Annapoorni went on floors on April 6 and is set to be shot in a single 22-day schedule with cinematographer Hector helming the camera and Kalaivannan in charge of the edits. The film’s music is composed by Govind Vasantha, while Yugabharathi serves as the lyricist and dialogue writer.
The team expects to wrap up filming by the first week of May and complete the post-production by the end of that month.