This keenly awaited film with major names at the helm came about from an idea that struck the director on a visit to a village
It’s the most awaited film of the year — Maryan, produced by Aascar Ravichandran and the press finally got to meet the team. The audio of the film, unveiled a few days ago, was a huge hit. The lead pair, Dhanush and Parvathy, and director Bharat Bala and the others waited with bated breath for Oscar winner A.R. Rahman, who came in with his characteristic smile and apologised to the media for being late.
Dhanush, who expressed his gladness to have been able to work with music maestro A.R. Rahman, said, “I got the opportunity to work with Rahmanji after 13 years. The soul of Maryan is its music. The double dhamaka is that I have also penned the lyrics for the Kadal Rasa number in the film.” The trailer screened showed the trouble that Dhanush went through to be part of the film.
“The film was shot in reverse format by Bharat Bala sir, which means the climax of Maryan was shot first and then it went backwards to the start. It was very challenging,” he recounts. The live sync sound used also helped bring out the exact emotions, he added. “When I see the awesome results on screen, the trouble was worth it,” he said.
Parvathy — she no more adds the suffix of the surname, ‘Menon’, she clarified — essays the Panimalar character. “This is my second film in Tamil after Poo. I was happy Bharat Bala sir auditioned me and selected me for the role of Panimalar which is my best till date,” she said. She granted though that she found the romantic scenes with Dhanush, “extremely uncomfortable. But, yes, it is ultimately, the script that demands such scenes and you become the character there. Beyond that, there’s nothing!”
Rahman, who shares a great rapport with Bharat Bala, right from the Vande Mataramdays, said, “There’s a condition to do a movie for Bharat Bala. I didn’t even hear the story. It’s just our friendship that made me agree to Maryan,” he said. Heaping praise on Bala, he said, “I am seeing the transition in him over the last 10 years. He is passionate about whatever he does and wants to better himself always.”
On roping in Yuvan Shankar Raja for a song, he said, “I was always fascinated with the combo of Dhanush, Selvaraghavan and Yuvan Shankar Raja. I had sung the track Kadal Rasa initially, but later, I felt my voice didn’t suit the number. It needed a more earthy voice. I thought Yuvan would be an apt choice. He was very fast and completed the recording in merely an hour’s time.” Bharat Bala, who said he loved to travel, was visiting a village once when the idea for the script of Maryan struck him. “Some stories are organic, you should tell them in the language that is deemed to be the natural choice for them. So, I opted for Tamil,” he said.
-Anupama Subramanian