Aaranya Kaandam (2011)

Interesting facts

Aaranya Kaandam ; English title: Anima and Persona) is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language black comedy crime film written and directed by Thiagarajan Kumararaja in his directorial debut. It is supposedly the first neo-noir film in Tamil cinema. The plot takes place in a day in the lives of the six protagonists, played by Jackie Shroff, Ravi Krishna, Sampath Raj and debutants Yasmin Ponnappa, Guru Somasundaram and Master Vasanth. Produced by S. P. B. Charan's Capital Film Works, the musical score was composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, cinematography by P. S. Vinod and editing handled by the duo Praveen K. L.-N. B. Srikanth.

Production

In August 2007, following the success of his film Chennai 600028 (2007), speculation over S. P. B. Charan's next production venture arose. While initial reports suggested that he would produce Achchamundu! Achchamundu!, starring Sneha and Prasanna, Charan opted to produce a film titled Aaranya Kaandam, to be directed by a newcomer Thiagarajan Kumararaja and starring newcomers.

In late 2008, while Kunguma Poovum Konjum Puravum was in post-production stage, reports surfaced that Charan and Kumararaja were going to revive the project, with noted Bollywood actor Jackie Shroff being roped in for a leading role, making his debut in Tamil cinema.

The script was written by Thiagarajan Kumararaja himself, which he had finished in 2006. He cites that he wanted to make a "racy film" and wrote the climax part first, which would be the "raciest part of a film". He then wrote "multiple storylines with three climaxes" as he felt that one climax was "not enough for a feature film", which eventually turned out to be a "leisurely paced film, taking its own time to unfold" and not a racy film as inte…

When announcing the film had already roped in Jackie Shroff, debuting in the Tamil film industry, Ravi Krishna, Sampath Raj of Saroja fame along with Guru Somasundaram from the Chennai based theatre group Koothu-P-Pattarai. Shroff was said to play the role of a "hoodlum", who was chosen after Kumararaja had approached several other Tamil actors, who declined the offer, fearing of their "image".

Yasmin Ponnappa, a popular Bengaluru based model, who had appeared in television advertisements and won many beauty pageants, was selected for the role of the lead female character. Her role was, however, written for Pooja Umashankar, keeping her in mind, who couldn't accept the offer as she had given her dates to Bala's magnum opus Naan Kadavul.

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