Mani Ratnam returns with ‘Chekka’
Maverick Tamil director helms a starstudded cast for the gangster family drama
The countdown to Mani Ratnam’s new film Chekka
Chivantha Vaanam has finally ended. For fans of the maverick Tamil director, it’s like waiting for a festival.
Celebrated for his engaging stories that are diverse in content and narration, the auteur of 35 years pushes the envelope with every project. Here are all the things you need to know about the film, which translates to Crimson Red Sky.
MAGNITUDE OF STARS
Chekka Chivantha Vaanam is as star-studded as they come: From veterans of his earlier films — Prakash Raj, Arvind Swami, Jayasudha — to repeat actors such as Aditi Rao Hydari, Chekka Chivantha
Vaanam promises power-packed performances. Other cast members include established actors Jyotika, Vijay Sethupathy, Arun Vijay, Aishwarya Rajesh, Silambarasan, Thiagarajan, as well as Malayalam actor Sarath Appani.
GANGSTER DRAMA
The film is a family drama with gangster elements: The everversatile actor Prakash Raj plays Senapathi, the patriarch and a business magnate. The trailers suggest a murky side to the enterprise. Veteran Telugu actress Jayasudha is Senapathi’s wife, who is doing her second film with Ratnam after Alaipayuthe.
“It’s always great to be on the sets of Mani Ratnam,” said the actress with more than 300 films to her credit and winner of several awards.
“Mani Ratnam chooses his actors only when he is convinced of them in a role. Working with him is like being on your first film. There is something to learn.
We don’t see actors but only the characters,” she said. “Mani Ratnam does not believe in dramatic dialogues but in a natural flow. He does not okay a shot unless he is fully satisfied. CCV is a family drama — a story of relationships and I play the matriarch of this family.
It’s my eighth film with Prakash Raj. After a Mani Ratnam film, I inevitably fall in love with acting again.”
Going against the grain, Ratnam, who introduced Swami as
the soft hero, now dispels his earlier images from Thalapathi, Roja,
Bombay and even Kadal, with a look that is a complete antithesis to his earlier characters. Swami plays Varadan, the eldest son of Senapathi. The trailers reveal a tough personality who will go to any length to secure his place as the rightful heir of Senapathi.
Jyotika plays his onscreen wife. However, Varadan seems to be in an extra-marital affair with a television channel reporter played by Aditi Rao Hydari.
Rajesh is paired opposite Vijay. Simbu and Dayanna Erappa make the last pair.
STRONG TECHNICAL TEAM
Cinematographer Santosh Sivan, who has several international and national awards to his credit, works with Ratnam for the sixth time. Sivan won the Indian National Award for Ratnam’s films Iruvar and Dil Se, and described Ratnam as a filmmaker who always wants to innovate.
“He tries hard to steer away from the conventional and treats all his films like it’s his first one.
CCV is a thriller and opens up doors to emotions. Brothers’ rivalry is very common, especially in powerful families,” said Sivan
Seven time Indian National Award winning lyricist Vairamuthu has written the lyrics set to music by AR Rahman.
THE DUBAI CONNECTION
A good portion of Chekka Chivantha Vaanam was shot across Dubai. Residents will be able to spot familiar locations from the Dubai Marina, Shaikh Zayed Road to Karama. Scenes were also filmed in the desert.