Deepak Sundarrajan, director of the upcoming horror-comedy Annabelle Sethupathi, starring Taapsee Pannu and Vijay Sethupathi, says he initially met the film’s producer to discuss a remake of the Telugu film Anando Brahma. But, producer Sudhan Sundaram ended up giving Deepak the idea for Annabelle Sethupathi.
“My producer originally asked me to do a remake of Anando Brahmo. But there was some issue with the rights and so, he asked me to do something with a house full of ghosts. I went home and quickly sent him a line and he absolutely loved my concept for Annabelle Sethupathi,” Deepak, son of veteran actor-director Sundarrajan, tells Silverscreen India.
Aside from Pannu and Sethupathi in the lead, the film also features a host of other actors. Rajendra Prasad, Radhikaa Sarathkumar, Yogi Babu, Vennela Kishore, Chetan, Devadarshini, Subbu Panchu, Madhumitha, Raja Sundaram, Suresh Menon, George Maryan, Raj Kumar, Sunil, and Surekha, all appear in pivotal roles.
A fan of Pannu since watching her films Game Over and Badla, among others, Deepak says he wrote the script with the actor in mind. “I started writing the story thinking of Taapsee as the main character. The only constant name in the cast from beginning to end was her. I showed her the script and she agreed soon after,” he says.
The title, which reminds one of the Hollywood horror film Annabelle, was chosen randomly, quips the debutant filmmaker. “When we decided to make a horror-comedy genre, we thought what could be better than bringing the word Annabelle into our title since it is from a very well-known Hollywood franchise. The Sethupathi part was just because Vijay Sethupathi was roped in for the film and it fits perfectly!”
The film is set to release in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Kannada, and Malayalam on September 17 on Disney+ Hotstar.
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The director mentions that he did not conceive Annabelle Sethupathi as a pan-Indian film. “I did not have a pan-Indian audience or any other idea in my mind at the start. Initially, we made a chart of the characters in the film, of who comes from which century, who is alive, and who is a ghost. After Taapsee, eventually, Vijay Sethupathi and Jagapathi Babu came in, then came Radhikaa, Rajendra Prasad and slowly, it became a pan-Indian film.”
On the decision to release this film exclusively on a streaming platform, Deepak says, “This is a movie which can be enjoyed in the home as well as theatres. Nowadays, OTT has made it easy for entire families to sit together and watch TV shows or films. I wanted that for my film. I wanted families to sit at home and enjoy this story. Also, when our OTT deal was made, the pandemic lockdown was in full force. Theatres have started opening up now, but our decision was already made.”