Periyandavar, the upcoming Tamil film starring comedian Yogi Babu, is set to have elements of fantasy, time-travel, and period drama, director-producer R Kannan tells Silverscreen India.
The film is backed by Kannan’s production banner Masala Pix, and was launched on Thursday.
Speaking to us about the upcoming film, Kannan, who is currently working on a remake of the hit 1972 Tamil caper comedy Kasethan Kadavulada, says, “While working on Kasethan Kadavulada, I worked with Yogi Babu, and we eventually became good friends. We decided to collaborate again, for this film. I liked his comic presence as well as films like Mandela, where he plays the lead and have been received well.”
Talking about the film, Kannan says, “Periyandavar will revolve around a series of events that take place, when Lord Shiva comes down to the Earth and meets a woman. It will look into several conversations between them, and how he answers her questions from a the perspective of a god. The film also carries a social message.”
The filmmaker, who has also written the film’s story and screenplay, notes that he had worked on the script, about a year ago. “It was written during the lockdown period. I had observed that films like PK, starring Aamir Khan, have rarely been made in Tamil cinema. I was dabbling with these thoughts, when I got the idea to present the current political scenario in a decent yet satirical way,” Kannan adds.
Details surrounding the rest of the cast members are yet to be revealed, and Kannan says that announcements will be made within a week. The film is set to go on floors in July and looking to wrap up by October. “The script is ready and casting is almost finalised. There will be a lot of known faces. The film is nearing completion of pre-production. There will be CGI works involved, as well as a segment from the 70-80s time period will be included.” Kannan notes that the team is hoping for a release in December.
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Kannan says that as Kasethan Kadavulada is gearing up for its premiere in June, he will begin working on Periyandavar, soon after. Kasethan Kadavulada features an ensemble star cast, including Urvashi, Mirchi Shiva, Yogi Babu, and Karunakaran, among others. Kannan is also helming the Tamil remake of the critically-acclaimed Malayalam film The Great Indian Kitchen. Retaining the same title, the film will see Aishwarya Rajesh essaying the role of Nimisha Sajayan. Giving an update about his other sci-fi horror comedy with Hansika Motwani, Kannan says that the first schedule is completed and the film is yet to be titled.