Most movies that depict the north Chennai suburb of Royapuram tend to focus on the dark and murky nature of the place. However, Pradeep Deva Kumar had a different idea.
“I watched several documentaries on the area before I started writing my script three years ago. I decided to place an action thriller there, making it more commercial by bringing in lighter comic elements without dark humour,” says the 21-year-old electronic media student from Anna University, who recently released his film, Royapuram-13 .
The short film (50 minutes) follows three small-time crooks – a chain-snatcher, a lock-breaker and a pickpocket – as they steal for survival and the turn their life takes when the don they work for is killed. Starring Sharan Kumar, Sananth Reddy, Augustin R. Kevin and ‘Mime’ Gopi, the film also features a song by ‘Gaana’ Bala and music by Dheen Dayal.
Having written and directed the movie, Pradeep describes his debut attempt as a quest to get a technically strong short film of a different genre with a different look and feel from what Tamil cinema is used to normally. "It was a year-long journey fraught with financial troubles, but the cast and the technical team stuck with us and despite some continuity issues, we managed to do our best and are happy with the outcome," he says.
Most of the shooting was done on location in Royapuram. “Although I am from Chennai, I had rarely ever explored north Chennai. Without knowing the place, I figured I could not write about it. So, I lived there for around three months, researching and observing people’s style of speaking, language and mannerisms. I wanted to shoot the entire film there but had to make do with other locations in Chetpet, Otteri, Kotturpuram and OMR for certain scenes,” he explains.
A preview of the film was held on Sunday, and was well attended, despite the heavy rains. Guests included producers and several film technicians, including the entire technical team from the film Madras. Pradeep says that he was quite thrilled to get feedback and advice from the industry itself. “I am currently working on a script for a full-length feature film. Hopefully, all our hard work on Royapuram-13 will help in the production of my future movies,” he says.
