For Sasi, whose Poo came out five years ago, 555 is an attempt to reposition himself as a director who can also make fancy action flicks for heroes. For Bharath, whose career has not quite turned out the way he would have liked, 555 could be an opportunity to become a director’s actor. The duo talk about their latest.
“I was not really keen to do a hero-based film, you know?” says Sasi. “My friend convinced me I should think about making movies with hero-centric characters. And then I thought, ‘why not?’”
When it dawned on him he needed a change, he decided he would do a romance-action movie. Once he zeroed in on the genre, he had to get a catchy title — 555 ! The film, admits Sasi, had to be worked upon for liberal doses of love and action even while making sure it reflected the relevance of the title. So, what does 555 mean? “Watch the film to find out! It is basically a love story, but action bits have been added to make it more appealing,” says Sasi.
Though Sasi says he has taken the ‘action’ route to show variety, deep down he is disappointed that his critically acclaimed Poo was not a box-office hit. “What do I do when the audience won’t accept a married woman thinking about her lover?”
Six-pack abs
While Sasi was trying to make a hero-centric action movie, Bharath volunteered to get six-pack abs. “I told him six-pack abs wouldn’t be talked about as before because everyone’s doing it. But, he asked for time anyway. Six months later, when he revealed his six-pack abs, this film came to life. It created hype,” says Sasi.
The hype Bharath wanted. For, he has spent more than two years on this project. “I could have continued to do four or five films every year. But, I didn’t want to. I took a break to analyse my work and see where I went wrong,” says Bharath. He broke the cycle of doing movies back-to-back, and learnt to say ‘no’ often.
“After Kanden Kadhalai , when I listened to this script from Sasi, I decided this was it.” And gave his all for the film. “When a film is made over two years, you tend to get restless. But I knew this film was worth all my effort,” he says. And that’s how the idea for six-pack abs came to him. “Well, I have three looks in the film. My character goes through many transitions,” says Bharath. About how he really wants to work in future, he says, “I want to do films with good directors who have a vision.”
