Sona is moving away from the glamour scene to newer roles. The actor says, “In today’s films, glamour has a different connotation; most of the time, the character or the role is unnecessary to the story. I am against being cast in such roles and have become very choosy. For instance, in Rettavalu , I play a negative role and even get to beat up the hero (Akhil).” Meanwhile, Sona is getting ready to start shooting for her first production and directorial venture under her Uniq Productions banner. “The film, titled Dev, is inspired by a popular English novel but has been written keeping in mind our audiences. It is a fast-paced, suspense thriller,” says Sona who underwent training in direction at a film institute to help her with her new role.
In search of truth
Director-actor P. Ravikumar portrays three different characters in his forthcoming venture, Unmai . “In today’s world, media and police are strong forces that combat crime and injustice. In the beginning of the film, I appear as an assistant commissioner of police whose uprightness makes him a victim of injustice and he gets shunted to different locations. The harassment makes him lose his mental stability; this is the second character I play. The third is that of a transgender. I cannot reveal how this fits into the story as it is one of the film’s USPs,” says Ravikumar who gained directorial experience by assisting in the making of Hindi films such as Saawariya.
An interesting combination
In Panivizhum Malarvanam , director James David, who has assisted directors such as Selvan and Venkatesh, has introduced a judicious combination of human and wildlife, the latter in a mix of real and computer generated images. “The majority of the film focusses on a tiger and these being thrilling sequences, I have shot extensively in the forests near Thekkady. These images are merged with special footage obtained from abroad. I have sought the services of wildlife photographer Nallamuthu for shooting these scenes. Besides, Panivizhum Malarvanam is a love thriller,” says James David.
