A baddie turns hero

Director Sakthivel Perumalsamsy’s Urumeen a fantasy thriller presents Bobby Simha in a never-seen-before role

June 02, 2015 07:34 pm | Updated December 05, 2015 05:51 pm IST

A still from Urumeen

A still from Urumeen

Director Sakthivel Perumalsamy wrote the story of Urumeen, a fantasy thriller with Bobby Simha as the hero.

It was a time when Bobby played the bad guy in films like Neram and Jigarthanda. He also won the national award for his performance as Madurai gangster ‘Assault Sethu’ in Jigarthanda . The iconic baddie is now the hero of Urumeen . And, director Sakthivel is happy with his choice. “I wanted a hero without any image. We have known each other for over five years. He fits into any mould and a pleasure for any director. You will see Bobby like never before in Urumeen ,” says Sakthivel.

Urumeen to be released in July has two stories weaved into one. While one story unfolds inside a forest, the other story is set in an urban background. There is a play of fantasy and the two stories interconnect. Bobby will be seen as an IT call centre employee, and also a rustic person.

“Actor Kalaiarasan who played Anbu in Madras has an equally important part. I doubt if any established big heroes would allow this. I can proudly say that it’s a director’s film.”

The film was shot in 65 days in Chennai and in the forests in Idukki district in Kerala. It has four songs composed by Achu to fit the commerical necessities and to take the story forward “The film entertains, but also has common man’s pulambal. There are so many issues a common man faces, right from using the ATM (some banks don’t allow you to swipe beyond five times) to buying milk packets every day. An IT employee slogs all night to earn Rs.18, 000 for a month while your neighbourhood parotta master makes some 300 parottas in a day and earns more. What is qualification got to do with the job we do? How many educated engineers are employed? We speak about all this and there is an element of satire too,” he explains.

Sakthivel has experimented with new styles in film making, something like an ‘object’ point of view where a particular object keeps recurring in key scenes. “We have seen this in Guy Ritchie’s films, Neeraj Pandey’s A Wednesday , Nalan Kumarasamy's Soodhu Kavvum , Director Mysskin’s films, and director Vikram Kumar’s Yaavarum Nalam . An object, be it a newspaper clipping, or a news scroll, becomes a symbol. I was amazed when IIT students discussed these aspects at a film festival. Our audience know so much more. I have used a clock in my film. When you are in the middle of a forest and when you have forgotten to wear your watch, you have to look up at the sky to know the time…” he says.

Sakthivel who started off as a film editor, especially the computerised editing, is greatly inspired by S.S. Rajamouli’s school of film making. “The conviction with which he made a film featuring an E as the protagonist is amazing. And, it was a big success, commercially too. Urumeen will take you on a travel to a different space. It is short and sweet. Though there were budget constraints, we have used CG to enhance the fantasy portions. It’s a simple fantasy presented creatively. Imagine what if you wake up knowing well in advance what the day has in store? Isn’t it interesting?” he asks.

The debutant director hopes the film inspires new film makers to try something different.

“Getting permission to shoot inside the forest was not easy. And, I waited for two weeks to get approval from the Animal Welfare Board. This was for using a picture of bird which I had captured on my camera in the forest. But, it is important to make a start. In the golden period of Tamil cinema, film makers like Balu Mahendra, Bharathiraja and Mani Ratnam experimented a lot. But, it was mass films made by directors like S.P. Muthuraman that got more theatre space. But, we remember and celebrate the films of the masters. That gives me hope.”

As for directing bobby, Sakthivel says: “Bobby and I have been friends. We know each one’s pluses and minuses and we have travelled together in this journey.”

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