Director Rajkumar Periyasamy: Amaran is not a war film, it is a part of life
In an exclusive conversation with India Today Digital, director Rajkumar Periyasamy talked about his upcoming film Amaran. The film is a biopic on the life of late Major Mukund Varadarajan.
Director Rajkumar Periyasamy, who is awaiting the release of Amaran, explains why it took him five years to complete the film. For those unaware, Amaran is a biopic on the life of late Major Mukund Varadarajan, who was killed on the field in Kashmir in 2014. Rajkumar Periyasamy made his debut as a filmmaker with actor Gautham Karthik’s Rangoon. After seven years, he is back with Amaran, starring Sivakarthikeyan and Sai Pallavi in the lead roles.
As Amaran is just days away from release, director Rajkumar Periyasamy opened up about the film, how it is not a full-fledged war film, Sai Pallavi was brought in and the film was shot in Kashmir.
Excerpts from the interview:
Question: What is Amran?
A:People think Amraan is a war film. However, I must say that this is not the case. It is a slice of life about a soldier. Amaran tells more about his family, the situation in Kashmir and the role of the army. I was very careful not to include my political ideology in the film.
Q: Tell us about casting Sivakarthikeyan as Major Mukund Varadarajan…
A: At first I did not write the story keeping any actor in mind. When we were discussing casting at Raj Kamal Films International, Kamal Haasan suggested that we cast a new face. At the same time I met Indu Rebecca Varghese, wife of Major Mukund Varadarajan.
I came to know that Major Mukund was called Maddy because his appearance resembled actor Madhavan. Actually, her operative codename was Maddie. We were looking for someone and Sindhu suggested we choose an actor with strong Tamil roots. This limited my options and the name of Shiva (Sivakarthikeyan) came up. I have seen them posting pictures with the national flag and hoisting the national flag during Independence Day and Republic Day.
Question: How was Amaran’s narration with Sivakarthikeyan?
A: I knew Sivakarthikeyan from Vijay TV days. When I went to narrate the story of Amaran to Sivakarthikeyan, he was shooting for Don. At that time I did not tell him that Kamal Haasan was associated with this project. I gave him narration for about two hours.
Q: Tell us about adapting the book into a film…
A: Sony Pictures, one of the producers of Amaran, has the rights to the book India’s Most Fearless: True Stories of Modern Military Heroes written by Shiv Aroor and Rahul Singh. The book covers the operations of the army and the talents of the soldiers. One of these chapters was about a Tamil man, which was explained in about 11 pages. The book details the operation of which he was a part. However, I wanted to make a film about his family, friends and his time with the army.
Amaran also has fantasy elements, but these are the scenes that stick with the film.
Q: How did you choose Sai Pallavi for Amaran…
A: Sai Pallavi Sindhu will play the character of Rebecca Varghese, and she plays a similar character with Sivakarthikeyan. She received her late husband Major Mukund Varadarajan’s Ashoka Chakra award with such grace, determination and strength. Behind that stature, there is a lot of insecurity.
She is from Kerala, who came to Chennai to join college. She’s already out and in love with someone and their passion. I wanted a solid actor for it, and I knew Sai Pallavi from the days of Ungalil Yaaru Adutha Prabhudheva. So that was my choice.
Amaran will be released in theaters on October 31 on the occasion of Diwali.