Originally made in Malayalam and released in January last year, Traffic was a runaway hit for producer Listin Stephen. Written by Bobby Sanjay and directed by Rajesh Pillai, the film starred Sreenivasan, Kunchacko Boban, Rahman and others.
The thriller was inspired by a real-life incident that took place in Chennai. Listin’s Magic Frames along with Radaan Media Works is remaking Traffic in Tamil (and, in Hindi by another production unit, helmed by Rajesh Pillai). Says Listin: “The Tamil remake, titled Chennayil Oru Naal , to be directed by Shaheed Khader, will have a stellar line-up — Saratkumar, Prakash Raj, Cheran and Prasanna. The Tamil film will be made on a grander scale to appeal to a wider audience.” Says Shaheed: “We have completed almost 75 per cent of the film in Chennai and the unit is now in Kerala for the remaining portion. The Hindi version will probably have Ajay Devgn in the lead.”
Grand canvas
Moving on from Vettaiyadu Vilayadu and Dasavatharam to Anurag Basu’s Barfi! has given ace cinematographer Ravi Varman the confidence to take up Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Ram Leela . “It is mounted on a larger canvas than his Sawariya and Guzaarish . It’s a turbulent love story featuring Ranvir Singh and Deepika Padukone and is reminiscent of Titanic. The sheer scale of Bhansali’s visualisation has left me speechless and I thoroughly enjoy filming the project. We will be shooting largely in Mumbai and parts of northern India to suit the essence of the script. Working in Hindi films has been a great experience,” says Ravi Varman who has done a few Hindi films earlier with a majority of his work being in Malayalam and Tamil.
Jiiva’s next is with Thulasi
Following the success of R. S. Infotainment’s films such as Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaya, Ko and Muppozhudum Un Karpanaigal, the banner is onto its next big project, Yaan . Meanwhile, its Neethane En Ponvasantham is much-awaited. Jiiva and yesteryear actor Radha’s younger daughter Thulasi (heroine of Mani Ratnam’s Kadal ) will act under Ravi K. Chandran’s direction in Yaan , a trilingual (Tamil, Telugu and Hindi) film.
Says Elred Kumar, one of the two producers: “Although we plan to start shooting only by November end, Ravi has already canned a few interesting scenes without the actors, during the Ganpati festival in Mumbai, to be later incorporated into the film. Shooting for the first half will take place in Mumbai and the rest abroad. Yaan is an entertainer with an ample dose of love and action.”
Second success?
If his first film was Tamizh Padam , director C.S. Amudhan has strategically named his second one Rendavathu Padam . Vimal, Richard, Arvind Akash, Vijayalakshmi and Ramya Nambisan play the lead roles. If there are three pairs, then who is the odd one out? Only Amudhan can reveal the answer. “But,” he says, “there’s Sanjana Singh too, in a glamorous role. There are 30 other characters who are important to the script and Rendavathu Padam is their collective story.” Also, he says, the film will have a lot of humour.
“While there is a bit of romance, it is predominantly about the friendship among the three bachelors staying in a ‘mansion’,” says Amudhan, who doesn’t want to reveal more at this stage of the production. For someone who does not believe in trends and understands that humour is an essential part of life, Amudhan will continue to provide laughter to his growing fan following. The trailer of the film on YouTube has registered almost a lakh hits.
