This “Ninnu Kori” remake has a soul of its own says Atharvaa
As warm yellow lights fill the interiors of this swanky residential complex on OMR, we are transported to a dim yet tastefully decorated living room. Lounging on an ivory white couch are Atharvaa, Anupama Parameswaran and Amitash Pradhan, glued to the screens in their hands. This might have as well been a scene out of real life. “We have designed the entire set ourselves to create a real atmosphere,” says filmmaker Kannan, flashing a quick smile, whilst running his eyes over the monitor. We are at the set of Kannan’s untitled film, which is a remake of Nani-Nivetha Thomas-starrer Ninnu Kori. But the director does not see the project as a remake. “It would be apt to say that it is a remake of Ninnu Kori’s script because it is not a shot-by-shot remake. I haven’t seen the movie again, save for the first time.”
“We just adapted the script for Tamil sensibilities,” Kannan says, adding that he wanted a fresh take on the hit romance. The Telugu original traces the love triangle between a young woman, her ex-boyfriend and her husband. The tension amidst the triangle is palpable in the room, when Kannan yells cut, happy with the shot.
Atharvaa, who was scribbling notes onto his script, looks up and gives us a smile. “We do not see a lot of one-sided love stories anymore. We had such great films maybe 10 years ago. So, I was instantly attracted to the film when I watched it for the first time,” the actor says, adding that the Tamil film will have a soul of its own.
While Atharvaa will be seen as a happy-go-lucky chap, Amitash plays the sombre husband, stepping into Aadhi Pinisetty’s shoes from the original. “Aadhi has done such a good job in the Telugu version. But at the end of the day, it is a fresh take on it. We have such good energies and are having a great time,” he adds.
Apart from its emotion-packed trajectory, the original was praised for Nivetha’s Pallavi, a young woman who is torn between two men. It was important to cast someone who could hold the film with her acting range, Kannan says. “The character is not just beautiful, but she is full of personality. Getting a heroine from Mumbai who doesn’t speak the language was not an option. I have seen Anu’s (Anupama) work and she is excellent,” the director observes.
Anupama recalls being stunned by Nivetha’s performance in the original. “Back when the film was released, I remember watching it in Vizag. I found out Nivetha’s number and called her to congratulate her for her amazing acting,” she says, adding that she refrained from watching the film again to avoid mimicking. “We have changed the script a little bit. This film will have a different flavour to it,” Anupama points out.
Comparisons are going to be inevitable, the cast unanimously agrees. The trick to beat that is by infusing new elements to the film, observes Kannan. “When I remade Jab We Met with Bharath and Tamannaah (Kanden Kadhalai), not a lot of them were sure that it would work. But I wanted to adapt the script for the Tamil audiences. It has been 10 years since that film, and I have learnt so much along the way. Romances like Mouna Ragam have always set precedence for such movies. We only have thrillers and horrors nowadays. We wanted to break that mould,” Kannan says, before going on to brief the trio about the next scene.
The film, which will be set in Lille, a city in France, has been lensed by Shanmuga Sundaram, who cranked the camera for Prem Kumar’s 96. “The film is filled with immense emotions. So, we divided the palette into two portions — flashback and the present. The flashback portions will be filled with colour. The scenes that take place in Lille will have pastel shades and a low contrast look and feel,” the cinematographer tells us, before going ahead to roll the camera for the next shot.
