Director Mohamad Issac’s (he is also the co-producer with Rasiyabi Mohamad) first venture, Agadam , has entered the Guinness World Records. “The certification says, ‘Longest Uncut Film’. The entire shoot was done in two hours 30 minutes and 30 seconds continuously, without any cut or retake. Agadam has beaten the record held by Russian Ark (a Russian film) which was shot in one hour and 30 minutes. “ Agadam , a horror film, was shot completely at night with a hand-held camera, which is also a first,” says Issack. Before going for the shoot, Issack had done extensive rehearsals for six months. “Although we had recorded dialogues in sync, further dubbing had to be done for more clarity. The time taken for this, as well as to include the titles, do not count for the record,” adds Issack.
An interesting plot
Most construction workers in Chennai have migrated from other parts of the country or from remote villages in Tamil Nadu. Producer-director PLR Ilangannan’s Adithalam is based on the life of such workers. The film stars Mahesh (earlier seen in Angadi Theru ) and Arushi (who featured in Alagan Alagi ). “A part of the story focuses on the irony that these workers live on the construction premises but once the building gets ready they lose their hold on it and have to move to another site. There is a tender love story woven into the plot,” says Ilangannan.
Perseverance pays
A youngster from Salem, bitten by the film bug, completes his education and descends in K-town. But, family circumstances force him to take up a job in an IT company in Bangalore. This is the story of Rajaj’s life. Says Rajaj, “ I used to make frequent visits to Chennai to knock on directors’ doors. And finally landed a small role in Ko . All along, director Naveen, known to me for seven years, was also planning a film and when he finalised the main cast, he cast me as one of the four protagonists in Moodar Koodam . I play Vellayan and, interestingly, I have a duet with Sindhu Reddy, which is in flashback mode.” Rajaj is also signing another film being made by one of Naveen’s associates.
The culture bridge
Director Dhanasekaran’s maiden venture for Lakshya Productions has a unique story and line-up of actors. Titled Mannar Valaikuda , the story is based on the Gulf of Mannar. “The film stresses on how we need to preserve our culture. In the film, interestingly, an Englishman, played by Jesse Fox, teaches this to one of the lead actors played by Ganjakarupu. Besides another lead actor Charms, there are three heroines — Chandra Louis, Amy Mahendra and Kaveri,” says Dhanasekaran. What’s more, veteran music composer M.S. Viswanathan has sung a song in the film for composer S. Sivapragasam.