Kovai Sarala and Ashwin Kumar's film with Prabhu Solomon titled Sembi, details inside

We had told you veteran comedienne Kovai Sarala and Cook with Comali-fame Ashwin Kumar were teaming up with Prabhu Solomon on a social drama. The makers revealed the first look poster of the same recently. Titled Sembi, the film also features Thambi Ramaiah, and a 10-year-old child actor named Nila in prominent roles. Sembi revolves around a bus and its 24 passengers.

Prabhu Solomon tells The Times of India, "Sembi is a travelogue, and will be more about the moments that happen in the lives of 24 characters, during their journey—from Kodaikanal to Dindigul. There will be happier moments, pathos, everything... this is a story that cannot be narrated; it can only be shown!"

The USP of Sembi, Prabhu informs, is that Kovai Sarala will be seen in an out-and-out serious role. "She is playing a 70-year-old woman. The unique thing about the film is that it has no hero or heroine; every character will be equally important."

For the first 20 minutes, the film will have a definite setting—a place called Kookal in Kodaikanal. “It is a forest area and it is quite difficult to get there. So, it was an adventure for us to reach there and film scenes in this tribal village," Prabhu recalls.

Finding the right cast was challenging, he shares. “Places like a bus, a movie theatre, a market... they are all representative of a community, as you can find different kinds of people here. We auditioned a lot of people from both cities and villages for the 24 major characters in the film, and the process took a long time."

The other challenge, he reveals, was shooting most of the film inside a bus. “It’s a very old bus, a 1985 model. Driving it in a hill station was difficult. We couldn't shoot in it for more than three hours at a stretch. Also, the working space inside was limited—10ft length and 2ft breadth. We had to place the rigs inside this cramped space and create camera movement and design action blocks. The weather, too, was changing rapidly; one moment, we’d have clear skies and the next, it’d get cloudy."

The film has cinematography by Jeevan, and music by Nivas K Prasanna. Sembi is jointly produced by Trident Arts and AR Entertainment.

Prabhu Solomon's last release was the trilingual Kaadan (Aranya, Haathi Mere Saathi). He is also said to have completed the shooting of Kumki 2.

On the other hand, Ashwin Kumar, who was seen last in Enna Solla Pogirai, is also part of a five-part anthology titled Meet Cute. Nani is bankrolling the film under his banner, Wall Poster Cinema.