CHENNAI: Director Shanmuga Priyan, whose upcoming romantic comedy ‘Love Marriage’ features actor Vikram Prabhu in the lead, says that the reason he picked actress Sushmitha Bhat to play the female lead was because he was looking for a heroine with a traditional face to play the character.
Talking to IANS, the director said, “I happened to see her pictures on Instagram and chose her, not only because she had a traditional look, but also because she was a flawess, natural performer.’
Interestingly, Sushmitha Bhat, who is best known for her performances in the Kannada film Chow Chow Bath and director Gautham Vasudev Menon’s debut Malayalam film Dominic and the ladies purse, will be making her debut in Tamil with ‘Love Marriage’.
Shanmuga Priyan said, “We originally thought the film would require 40 days of shooting and so went ahead with that plan. However, thanks to the co-operation of my cast and crew, we were able to work fast and bring that number down first to 35 and then finally to 31. So, we wrapped up the shoot in just 31 days.”
At a time when film units are exceeding time and budget limits, Shanmuga Priyan and his unit’s effort in completing the shooting much ahead of what was planned has caught the attention of industry insiders.
Ask him how this was possible and he says, ‘ We shot in Gobichettypalayam and I have a lot of artistes in the film. So, I thought I would face challenges, getting all the artistes together for the the combination scenes. However, all my artistes were so sweet that I did not have any hassles filming those combination scenes.”
“My film’s hero Vikram Prabhu sir was also one major reason why were able to work this fast. He was a very down to earth person, who was very co-operative. For instance, he would not go back to his caravan after every shot. Instead, he would patiently wait at the shooting spot itself, for his scene and turn. So, work happened fast.”
Apart from Vikram Prabhu and Sushmitha Bhat, the film also features Meenakshi Dinesh, Ramesh Thilak, Aruldoss, Gajaraj, Muruganantham, and Kodangi Vadivelu in pivotal roles.
The film’s story pertains to the funny developments that happen when a bridegroom who is 33 years old finally decides to get hitched and his family decides on a suitable alliance for him.
Says Shanmuga Priyan, “ This film will not only be about the late marriage issue but also about the relationship between the two families involved.”
Shanmuga Priyan, who is making his debut as a director with this film, had earlier worked as an associate director for filmmaker Anand Shankar on the films NOTA and Enemy, and as a co-director for film maker Ra.Karthik on the film ‘Nitham Oru Vaanam’.
Sean Roldan, the current sensation in Tamil music industry, has scored the music for this film, which has cinematography by Madhan Christopher. Bharath Vikraman is overseeing editing works and M. Murali is taking care of production designing. The film, laced with entertainment elements, is set against a rural backdrop.