PremiumExclusive! Tamannaah’s Malayalam debut with Dileep will be an action-entertainer shot across India: Arun Gopy
The untitled movie, which also has R Sarathkumar and Dino Morea, is scripted by Udaykrishna
Last Updated: 03.27 PM, Oct 19, 2022
Baahubali actress Tamannaah’s Mollywood debut is packed to the brim with stars including Dileep, R Sarathkumar and Dino Morea. The yet-to-be-titled film’s director Arun Gopy, who had previously helmed Ramaleela and Irupathiyonnaam Noottaandu, however, says that it wasn’t a deliberate attempt at making a ‘pan-Indian’ film with a cast list featuring actors from across industries.
In an exclusive chat with OTTplay, Arun tells us, “The content of the film is captivating. I wouldn’t say it’s unusual but it’s interesting and can make an impression. The reception of the movie will depend on how we conceive, develop and present this. I believe it’s the content that has also enabled us to rope in all these talented actors.”
The movie is scripted by Udaykrishna, who has written movies such as Pulimurugan, Monster and Aaraattu. “This is an action-oriented entertainer, but it’s the emotional aspect of the story that drives the movie. It’s made on a big canvas and has a decent budget. It’s a film that we are trying to make within our limitations,” says the filmmaker.
On roping in actors such as Sarathkumar, Dino Morea, VTV Ganesh, Easwari Rao, Rajveer Ankur Singh and Amit Tiwari for the film, Arun explains, “It’s not like we have deliberately tried to get people from all other film industries for an amalgamation of sorts. This was an organic process. The story also evolves outside Kerala and so the characters that become part of the story are from other states. There is a tendency to localise such characters, by also giving them a Malayali background. Here, we haven’t tried that. The characters will speak their language; that was also the thought behind the casting process.”
The filmmaker explains that there are more than 100 days of shoot left for the movie, which is expected to hit theatres in 2023. Some of the locations of the film are Junagadh, Rajkot, Ahmedabad Udaipur, Jaipur, Agra and Mumbai. “The locations are widespread. The idea is to tell the story in the most beautiful terrain. You can’t fully unfold this story in one particular location and that’s the reason for so many locales; it’s not to make a huge film or anything,” says Arun.