Pagaivanuku Arulvai, the upcoming Tamil film starring actor-filmmaker Sasikumar in the lead, is an action drama that is loosely adapted from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, says the director of the film, Anish Azhanadan, in conversation with Silverscreen India.
The film is produced by 4 Monkeys Studio and its teaser was released in September. It is the second directorial of Anish, who made his debut with the 2015 romantic drama Thirumanam Enum Nikkah, starring actors Jai and Nazriya Nazim.
Speaking about Pagaivanuku Arulvai, the filmmaker notes that it will have a social message. “Also, this is the first Tamil film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. There have been a few adaptations in Hindi and Malayalam cinema, but in Tamil, there have so far only been theatre performances of the famous play,” he adds.
The film is also based on real incidents, Anish reveals. “It has a prison backdrop and features two different time periods – the 80s and the current time.”
The director, who worked on the script for five years, also mentions that about 60 real-life prisoners have acted in the film. “I met them, visited the prisons, and researched many case studies. The pre-production work took a significant amount of time. In fact, I began working on this one right after I finished Thirumanam Enum Nikkah.”
Besides Sasikumar, Pagaivanuku Arulvai also stars Bindu Madhavi, Vani Bhojan, Hareesh Peradi, and Jaya Prakash.
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Anish has once again roped in music director Ghibran, who has composed six songs for the film.
Pagaivanuku Arulvai went on floors in December 2020 and was shot by cinematographer Karthik K Thillai. Locations included parts of Karnataka and Chennai. The film was wrapped in three months and is currently in the post-production stage. Mu Kasivishwanathan is the film’s editor.
The director says they have not yet decided on the date or mode of release, but notes that the film will be out this year. “We will be sending it to the censor board for certification soon.”
Anish adds that he will shortly begin working on his next script. “That will be an action film, too.”