Director Saravanan goes down memory lane as his ‘Journey' begins this Friday
“Iam not fluent in English and I am not sure of even my Telugu, how do I give an interview?” questions debutant director Saravanan whose Engeyum Eppodum rocked Chennai last month. It is now releasing in Andhra Pradesh as Journey on December 2. In a chat interspersed with Tamil and Telugu, Saravanan says that he had made up his mind to get into the movie industry right when he was in school, but was clear only after joining college. The director says, “I didn't go to any film institute; I read books, watched innumerable films and became an assistant director. Armed with a script I approached Murugadoss but he asked me to revert with a better version and I did.” Only Murugadoss could have okayed the project because he understood the screenplay perfectly. When he saw the first copy he said it turned out to be better than he thought.”
Saravanan says a news story on a TV channel about accidents triggered the concept. He adds, “The news reader talks about the accident in detail but never mentions the reason - was it because of speed, carelessness, brake failure, etc.I feel if the reason is mentioned people will be careful, so I made the film.”
The director adds that the highpoint of the film is the realistic picturisation - the CG done was only ten percent. Two buses were made to collide and the shots on the highway give a real feel. There are two love tracks featuring Sharwanand, Ananya, Jai and Anjali. He adds, “My message is not only that anything can happen anywhere, anytime; but also what one is supposed to do to avoid failure in love. ”
Why did he choose Sharwanand for the role? He replies instantly, “I liked the way he simply walked into my office and asked for a role. I had by then finalised both the heroes so I told him that I would consider him the next time. Suddenly there were dates issue with actor Vimal and Sharwanand stepped in.”
