Vezham, the upcoming Tamil film led by Ashok Selvan, is a romantic thriller with a psychological lens, says debutant director Sandeep Shyam in conversation with Silverscreen India.
The first look poster of the film produced by Keseven was released via social media recently.
Speaking about his directorial debut, Sandeep, who has a background in advertising and short films, says, “Vezham is a romantic thriller at its core, but it also has a psychological perspective to it.”
Sandeep, who has also written the script, says he began working this story back in 2018. “I personally like thrillers, as they keep one engrossed wondering what is going to happen next. I’ve had an inclination towards the genre since childhood. I also like the romance genre, so I thought of combining both for my debut.”
“We used the title Vezham, which means ‘elephant’ in Tamil, because of the parallels between the protagonist’s character and the characteristics of an elephant, such as its memory power, its aggression, and the madness that causes the animal to go on a rampage. At the same time, an elephant is also a warm and affectionate animal. All other characters in the film will also be seen exhibiting different qualities of an elephant.”
The director says he approached Ashok Selvan to play the male lead because he felt that the actor tends to choose versatile scripts. Vezham also features actor Janani and it is her second collaboration with Ashok after Thegidi (2014). Actor Iswarya Menon plays another female lead.
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“Ashok’s character is searching for something that lies in his memory. The characters of Janani and Iswarya will be instrumental in moving the plot. They are not used as mere eye-candy,” says Sandeep.
The director also reveals that Marathi actor Mohan Agashe is part of the cast alongside others like Kitty, producer PL Thenappan, and Sangili Murugan.
Vezham went on floors at the end of 2019 and was wrapped up in 2021. The film is set against the backdrop of Ooty and Coimbatore and has been predominantly shot in Ooty with a few portions filmed in Coimbatore as well. Cinematographer Shakthi Aravind has handled the camera work, while the editing is by AK Prasath. The music is composed by guitarist R Jhanu Chanthar, and Sandeep says two songs will be featured in the film.
The director notes that the team is planning for a theatrical release in June.