India’s cup of woes may have been full at the recent summit clash in the game of cricket. Elsewhere, in the world of Kollywood, a debutant director, ARK Saravanan, has been the toast of the audience, for his début venture, Maragatha Naanayam .
“I am not exactly surprised at the results, but never expected the film to be recieved well by audiences of all sections. That the film has done good business in the opening week in multiplexes and in the B and C centres has been a shot in the arm for the whole unit,” says Saravanan.
Inspired by newspaper reports, Saravanan said he had packaged the content of Maragatha Naanayam , backed by the surfeit of facts. “A report of a dead man coming alive when he was about to be buried was the inspiration. What if another soul entered the body? I added my imagination to this idea, and after that, putting together the content was rather easy. I never underestimated the intelligence of the audience; the audiences’ hearty laugh was a pointer that new ideas are welcomed.”
The Tirupur-based director says he had made up his mind to go in for a black comedy for his debut film. “There was a risk factor as to how the audience will accept another soul creeping into a dead body. Also weighing on my mind was how to bring in three more dead ones into the scheme of things. But it worked, thanks to the finesse with which the character was played by Ramadoss. Keeping a straight face and delivering the lines worked wonders for the character and the movie as well.”
For Saravanan, the ultimate compliment was the pat from director Ram, whom he had assisted in Mundasupatti . So, what’s happening next? “I will stick with comedy, as it is my comfort zone.”
