“Take polaama?” asks director Pradeep Krishnamoorthy, peering into the monitor. He is happy with the way the frame is set — an angry Sibiraj pointing a gun at Jayaprakash. “Ready ah ?”
Not everybody is. Cinematographer Rasamathi, perched precariously atop two stools that have been stacked on top of each other, spots someone’s shadow in the corner of his frame. It is one of the light boys who is getting things ready for the next shot. He moves away, and the shot is canned successfully.
All this action is taking place inside a dingy room at Sathyalok School for Special Children in Porur. On another day, it might have been a classroom packed with students. But today, the crew of upcoming Tamil film Kabadadaari (remake of Kannada hit Kavaludaari ) have converted it into a ‘hideout’ of a disgruntled journalist, played by Jayaprakash.
Actor Jayaprakash on the sets of ‘Kabadadaari’
“It’s again a father character, but quite different from what I’ve been playing for a very long time,” says Jayaprakash, when we catch him during a short break, “Generally, I’m called for the soft-spoken, nice man roles. But I’m happy that the makers of Kabadadaari wanted to ‘de-glamourise’ me.”
So, Pradeep and Jayaprakash sat down to design the look of an “unhealthy, unsuccessful man who is generally frustrated” for the film that is now being shot in both Tamil and Telugu. “I love this team,” says Jayaprakash, who will soon head to shoot in picturesque locations of Courtallam for Karthick Raju’s upcoming bilingual.
Cop tales
Sibiraj has just completed a close-up shot of him keeping a gun inside his pocket. He sinks into a chair and whips out his phone to check messages, and informs me that he has a handful of projects like Walter, Ranga, Ranger,Maayon and Vattam in his line-up. In Kabadadaari , he plays a traffic cop for the first time. “Just think about how they carry out their duties in the summer months,” he says, “My respect for them has increased a lot.” In the movie, Sibiraj happens to investigate a crime that happened three decades ago — something that he feels will be new to Tamil audience.
Dhananjayan along with director Pradeep Krishnamoorthy
By now, the crew is moving the equipment and lights to an exterior location inside the premises of the school. Supervising them is Rasamathi, who will have to can some top-angle shots for the next sequence featuring Sibiraj and Jayaprakash. We use this break to catch up with the most busy man on set: director Pradeep, who is already discussing the next day’s schedule with producer G Dhananjayan. “When I do a remake, I keep my brains aside. The original essence should not be missed,” says Pradeep, who previously helmed Sathya , a remake of the Telugu hit Kshanam .
Role play
Pradeep is also doing a short role in the film. Mention that to him and he starts smiling, “That was a big accident.” An actor who was originally chosen for the role wasn’t very convincing and Pradeep had to step in at the last-minute.
The sun is going down fast and Pradeep and team are in a hurry — for, he has to complete a few sequences before the light fails him. Says Dhananjayan, “Shooting is like war; if we achieve something that we planned for the day, the war is won and we feel happy.” That evening at the Sathyalok School for Special Children, the team of Kabadadaari were proud winners.
