Madras (2014)

Interesting facts

Madras is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language political action drama film written and directed by Pa. Ranjith. The film stars Karthi, Catherine Tresa and Kalaiyarasan, while Charles Vinoth, Riythvika, V. I. S. Jayapalan, Poster Nandakumar and Mime Gopi play supporting roles. Set in North Madras, the film portrays Kaali (Karthi) and his friend Anbu (Kalaiyarasan) getting embroiled in a brutal political rivalry, between two factions of a political party after laying claim to a wall.

Production

Studio Green signed up Pa. Ranjith to direct a film for their production house after they had bought and distributed the director's successful venture, Attakathi (2012). In December 2012, Ranjith confirmed that he would shortly begin work on a project titled Sarpatta Parambarai with Karthi in the lead role, though production was subsequently delayed and did not take off as planned.

In an interview with The New Indian Express, Ranijth said that the film was not based on an individual and that Karthi's role was that of an IT graduate named Kaali, further adding that no make-up was used for any of the cast members. Ranjith also informed that some changes were made to the script to accommodate Karthi as the hero.

Sai Pallavi was the first choice of the female lead but she denied the offer to pursue her medical studies in Georgia. Later reports suggested that Nazriya Nazim would portray the role, while Nithya Menen and Lakshmi Menon were also linked to the role. Later in October 2013, Catherine Tresa was finalised to be the female lead in the film, thereby making her debut in Tamil films with the project.

Kalaiyarasan, who had a short role in Ranjith's first film, was given the pivotal role of Anbu, the protagonist's best friend, after he had cleared three screen tests. Riythvika of Paradesi (2013) fame, was paired opposite Kalaiarasan. Rama, who is known for her role in Bharathiraja's En Uyir Thozhan (1990), and Jaya Rao were chosen to play Karthi's parents.

Principal photography commenced on 11 October 2013 with a small puja ceremony at Vyasarpadi in Chennai. Karthi worked exclusively for the film in the final quarter of 2013, losing about 10 kg of weight and sporting a new look for the venture. Karthi also worked on acquiring the typical Royapuram accent and spent time in northern Chennai trying to learn about their way of life before the shooting began.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.