Yogi Babu to play Lord Shiva in a time-travel film, directed by R Kannan

R Kannan, who directed Boomerang, Biskoth and Thalli Pogathey, is collaborating with Yogi Babu, on a film, titled Periyandavar. Touted to be a time-travel comedy, we hear Yogi Babu will play Lord Shiva.

According to multiple reports, a Shiva temple will be constructed at the cost of Rs 50 lakh on East Coast Road. While the female lead and the rest of the cast are yet to be confirmed, Periyandavar will go on floors by mid-July or August.

Said to be a dialogue focused film, along with Kannan, Kabilan Vairamuthu will also be in charge of lyrics and dialogues.

A Mumbai based CG company has been approached for the VFX work. Periyandavar is produced by Masala Pix.

Kannan, meanwhile, is awaiting the release of The Great Indian Kitchen, starring Aishwarya Rajesh, followed by the Shiva-starrer Kasethan Kadavulada. Further, he has a film with Hansika Motwani, playing the lead.

Yogi Babu, on the other hand, has films like Naane Varuven, Thalapathy 66, Panni Kutty and Ayalaan.

Kannan tells The Times of India, "I had first narrated the one-liner of Periyandavar to Yogi Babu while shooting for Kasethan Kadavulada, in which he plays an important character. Later, when he was dubbing for his role, he saw the final output of that film and told me he was impressed and that we should start our next film soon. Yogi Babu does very few films as the lead, like Gurkha, Dhramaprabhu and Mandela. I’m happy my film is also on that list.”

The director adds he worked on the script for three years. “I was inspired by Rajkumar Hirani-Aamir Khan’s PK. The story of Periyandavar will touch upon the present scenario—both political and societal—of the country. The topic is serious, but we will treat it with a touch of humour. ”

Elaborating on the storyline, Kannan tells The Times of India, “Lord Shiva comes to earth and meets a girl, and the film will trace their conversations and chronicle their journey. We are in talks with a leading heroine to play the part of the girl who meets God. The story is set in the 60s-70s, and also in 2022. We are looking to shoot the entire film in Chennai."