It always pays to read newspapers, as director R. Kannan discovered. The idea for his next film, titled Poda! Aandavane En Pakkam , came from an article about lack of employment opportunities for engineering graduates, being churned out by the lakh every year. The film is about one such graduate, played by Vishnu Vishal, who makes money by selling duplicate goods on Ritchie Street. The director is excited about his plan to recreate the street for the film.
About Vishnu’s character, he says, “All his friends call him ‘reverse engineer’. There isn’t a single product he can’t create an imitation of,” he says. To bring authenticity to the setting, the director has even hired four engineers to serve him as his assistant directors during the shoot. While Kannan has finalised Prayaga to play the female lead, he’s still in the process of picking the other actors. Though he is known to have made remakes ( Kanden Kadhalai and Settai ), Poda… , “a mixture of love and action”, is an original story. “Just like my previous film, Oru Oorla Rendu Raja ,” he reminds. Kannan believes the problem with Oru Oorla stemmed from his decision to include ‘commercial elements’. He sounds a bit helpless when he says, “I want to make films without songs, but the dictates of a commercial film restrict me.”
I point out that Mysskin’s Pisaasu , that actress Prayaga debuted in, managed just fine without too many songs. “Perhaps that was possible because Bala, a supporter of art house films, was the producer. That’s why I am co-producing this with Vijay Raj Jothi. This time, I can desist from adding unnecessary commercial elements.”
Poda … will go on the floors in May and release in September. On the rather unique title, he says, “I’ve seen many people use this Rajinikanth punch line on WhatsApp and Twitter. It seemed catchy and appropriate for my film too.”
