Walking Talking Strawberry Icecream, the upcoming Tamil film, which will be the next production venture of filmmaker Vignesh Shivan and actor Nayanthara’s home banner Rowdy Pictures, was launched during an inaugural ceremony on February 27.
The film stars Krishnakumar Balasubramanian who was seen in Tamil drama film Soorarai Pottru (2020) and singer Jonita Gandhi, who will be making her acting debut. Walking Talking Strawberry Icecream will be directed by debutant director Vinayak V, who is a former associate of Shivan.
Vinayak said that the film is not a typical “boy meets girl” story. “It is about a man in his late 20s who takes a trip down memory lane. He revisits some things from the past, including the people he has loved. The dominant theme in the film is nostalgia,” he said.
Speaking to Silverscreen India, Vinayak, who has also written the story of the film, said, “The script was written in three-four months, starting from November, 2020. Over the past two months, pre-production work has been going on.”
We are happy to be introducing our upcoming project called #WalkingTalkingStrawberryIcecream. If the name sounds quirky to you, wait till you watch the film!!
A @vinayakv_ directorial pic.twitter.com/jxh4SsN6xo
— Rowdy Pictures Pvt Ltd (@Rowdy_Pictures) February 16, 2021
Vinayak has worked as an associate with Shivan in action comedy Naanum Rowdy Dhaan (2015), Netflix’s anthology film Paava Kadhaigal (2020), and heist comedy film Thaana Serndha Koottam (2018).
Talking about working with Shivan, Vinayak said, “I have known him for about eight years now. I have watched him at work and learned many things from the way he works. For Walking Talking Strawberry Icecream, I drew inspiration from my own experiences and from whatever I have learnt under Vignesh Shivan sir’s guidance.”
Vinayak said that the film’s narration to Shivan happened impulsively. “We usually hang out at his office for discussions about films. One such day, I narrated a line of the story I had in mind and he liked it, it struck a chord with him. Then, I narrated about 30 more minutes of the story. Right there, we decided to make this film. It happened impulsively. He is good at judging what will work and what will not. So, the fact that he liked my story only boosted my confidence in the film,” he said.
Vinayak said that they had cast Krishnakumar after seeing him in Soorarai Pottru, while Gandhi had sung a song in Kolamavu Kokila with lyrics written by Shivan.
“So, sir [Shivan] had suggested her name and we approached her. She liked the story and accepted to do it,” Vinayak said.
The filmmaker said that the fictional story is based on “human psyche and humour”. Asked how he came up with the film’s title, he said, “While the title does have an intrigue factor, there is more to it. The title itself is tied very closely with the plot of the film. The title originated from a sort of inside joke only my circle of friends know.”
Vinayak said that the film will go on floors this month and will be filmed in Chennai and Puducherry. He said that the film will comprise an ensemble cast and they will be introduced at later stages.
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“You can expect more well-known faces to join the cast. The story will revolve around seven people who will be having equal importance,” the director said. Vinayak said that the team has planned to wrap up shooting in this year.
He said that other cast and crew members will be announced soon.
Shivan’s home production had previously produced Koozhangal (Pebbles), directed by debut filmmaker Vinothraj PS. The film became the first Tamil film to win the prestigious Tiger Award at the recently held 50th International Film Festival Rotterdam. In December 2020, Shivan announced that Rocky Pictures had acquired Rocky, an upcoming Tamil film, directed by Shivan’s long-time friend Arun Matheshwaran. Shivan is also producing Nayanthara’s upcoming thriller film Netrikann.