Over 90 per cent of the movies he's worked on have turned out to be hits, superhits or blockbusters. But that doesn't delight Randy as much as working again with close friends. “At the moment, I have signed three projects, all with good friends. The first is the Hindi film David , which stars Vikram and is being directed by Bejoy Nambiar of Shaitan fame. The next is GNR Kumaravelan's Tamil film Haridas, after which I will work on Mahesh Babu's film, which is being directed by Sukumar of Arya fame.”
“Kenny (Vikram) and I go a long way back,” says Randy. “We first worked together on Sethu , which was directed by Bala sir and which gave Kenny his big break. So the moment he got to know we would be working together again, Kenny was overjoyed. It's a great feeling to work with someone this close after a gap of 13 years.”
He adds, “The same is the case with Sukumar, with whom I worked on the blockbuster Arya . A mathematics professor-turned-director, he is one of the most down-to-earth people you can find. Sukumar's speciality is he can give you five different ways to solve every problem you encounter. He can get to the crux of the problem and figure out the best possible method to resolve it. I'm looking forward to working with him again.”
GNR Kumaravelan, who became popular after his film Yuvan Yuvathi , is a childhood friend. Randy says, “I have a special place for him in my heart and therefore decided to work with him when he came up with an interesting plot. His film is an offbeat one, although it has all the commercial elements.” It is about the relationship between a father and his autistic son. Kishore plays the father.
How will he work on three projects simultaneously? Randy smiles. “I have just finished shooting a portion of David and there is time before the next schedule begins. Kumaravelan's project is to begin in a day or two and will be completed by April, after which I will begin work on Sukumar's project.”
While all three projects have raised expectations, David has drawn a lot of attention, probably because it's Vikram's second major film in Bollywood and also because director Bejoy Nambiar was an assistant to Mani Ratnam.
Randy says, “It is for the first time that I have shot a full-length feature film in the digital format. I have used the Red Epic, a 5k resolution high-end camera.” A song sequence was recently picturised on Vikram and Isha Sharvani in the backwaters of Alleppey. Randy has used a helium balloon to accentuate the romantic mood of the song. “It has come out really well,” he says. “Vikram continues to amaze me with his professionalism. He does not know Hindi but the way he memorises his lines is brilliant. Even if a four-page document is given to him, he delivers them flawlessly at one go.”
All about David:
It’s out! For long, people have been guessing the story of David and the role Vikram plays in it. Now, sources close to the film’s unit say that Vikram plays a fisherman in the film, which has three different stories in all.
Says a source, “Vikram’s story takes place in Goa, while the two other stories happen in Mumbai and London. They occur at different periods.
While Vikram plays the protagonist in one story, a newcomer from Canada called Vinay Virmani plays the hero in the second story. Talks are on to finalise the hero of the third story. An effort is being made to rope in Farhan Akhtar to play this role.
The beauty is that all three protagonists are called David in the film. Vikram’s portions in the film are done and a sequence was shot at Kapu in Mangalore which has been showcased as Goa in the film, which also has Tabu playing a role.”
