‘Nayanthara will surely pick up awards’
Extensive research and prep went into Netrikann – Milind Rau
Milind Rau, who was critically acclaimed for his horror film Aval, is back with Netrikann, starring Nayanthara. Though it is an official adaptation of Korean film Blind, Milind says he has improvised a lot to suit the Tamil audience.
Ahead of the film’s premiere on DisneyPlus HotStar on August 13, Milind speaks to DC in an exclusive about using Rajinikanth’s blockbuster title, Nayan’s meticulous preparation for her role as a visually impaired person who is a witness in a murder case, and much more.
SIGNIFICANCE OF
THE TITLE: Nayanthara Ma’am essays a character named Durga, who is a blind. I felt Netrikann was the only apt title for the film. Since it is the title of Rajini Sir’s yesteryear blockbuster movie, it has tremendous recall value. Nayanthara debuted in Tamil with a film bankrolled by Kavithalaya who hold the title rights for Netrikann. Since she maintains a good rapport with them, they gave an NOC when she approached them.
WHAT RAJINI SAID: Nayan Ma’am was working in Darbar when we started this project.
When she informed him about Netrikann, he reportedly said, ‘It gives positive energy.’
ON HER DE-GLAM LOOK: We wanted to avoid dark glasses that are usually associated with visually-impaired characters. Nayan suggested we do a test shoot sans makeup, and assess the body language too, and it was perfect.
REFERENCES AND PREP: We visited a lot of blind schools and recorded the movements of people there. Also, we took references from braille books and had reading sessions. We took care to be politically correct too. We have portrayed how Durga can lead a normal life in a realistic manner. I hope this will give the right message and confidence to visually challenged people.
We wanted to avoid dark glasses that are usually associated with visually-impaired characters
AWARDS IN THE OFFING: I would say that Nayan Ma’am has lived in the role for almost two years. We had a lot of breaks in between shoots due to the pandemic, and it was really challenging for her. There were several night shoots, rain effect shots, action sequences etc., and she pulled it all off effortlessly. I am sure she will pick up a couple of awards (smiles).
AJMAL THE ANTAGONIST: The story revolves around the characters played by Nayan and Ajmal. Ajmal has an equally strong role and it will be a talked about one. Technically also, it is a superior movie. Composer Girishh has given two different types of theme music for each of them.