In a career spanning more than 15 years as a singer, producer and actor, S.P. Charan hasn’t shied away from taking risks. He produced cutting-edge projects in Tamil, particularly the sports flick Chennai 600028 and the dark, edgy, cult gangster flick Aaranya Kaandam ( AK ) (2011). In 2010-11, he was working on three productions, overseeing back-to-back releases and decided to take a break. Aspiring filmmakers approached him with scripts similar to AK but Charan had moved on. “ Aaranya Kaandam was path-breaking, got recognised (National Award for Best Editing and Best First film of a Director) but its making and release were a struggle. I wanted to produce a film that would get U/A certification, where the family audience would come in and have a good laugh,” says Charan, as his new project, a bi-lingual, awaits release.
Titled Moodu Mukkallo Cheppalante in Telugu and Moone Moonu Vaarthai in Tamil, this is Charan’s first project in Telugu. Like his previous ventures, this one too will introduce new talent, both in acting and technical departments. “Working with newcomers helps keep costs down and we don’t need to doctor a script to suit a hero,” he reasons. The film is directed by Madhumita, who has directed two Tamil films. The plan was to make a Tamil film but the numbers didn’t look promising, reveals Charan. It made business sense to reach out to a larger market through a bi-lingual.
MMC brings back S.P. Balasubrahmanyam and Lakshmi together on screen after Midhunam . The young principal cast includes singer and lyricist Rakendu Mouli who makes his debut as a hero in Telugu, Aditi Chengappa and Tamil actor Venkatesh Harinathan. Brahmanandam and Ali appear in key roles while K. Bhagyaraj is part of the Tamil version. Karthikeya Murthy debuts as a music director. Charan had sung for Karthik’s college project and recalls being awestruck at his musical prowess.
Shooting simultaneously in Tamil and Telugu wasn’t tough since many unit members were conversant in both languages. “For instance, cinematographer Srinivasan Venkatesh is a Telugu from Chennai. Madhumita was the only one who felt like a fish out of water. With Rakendu’s help, she was on cue,” says Charan.
MMC is pitched as a comedy about two childhood friends “who are misled in life.” The friends come up with a business idea and hit it big. One incident changes the game and they need to undo the damage before things get dark.
A couple of years ago, Charan had sounded out on Twitter that he was on the lookout for a script. “I diligently replied to everyone; out of 1000-odd scripts, I narrowed down to 7 or 8, read the scripts and heard narrations. Nothing clicked. At that time, Madhu approached me with another script. But finally we decided to have something fresh and this bi-lingual came up,” he says.
As Charan discusses the dynamics of the Tamil and Telugu industries, we ask him if things would have been different if he had produced AK a year or two later, when small regional films were being picked up for national-level distribution by corporates. “Not at all; you shouldn’t delay an idea. I was lucky that Thiagarajan Kumararaja came to me after being rejected by other producers and I could see the film in a way they couldn’t. AK was ahead of its time,” he says. The film drew appreciation from filmmakers like Anurag Kashyap and later, Tamil cinema saw a clutch of pulpy gangster flicks — Soodhu Kavvum (now being made as Gaddam Gang in Telugu), Mundasupatti, Jigarthanda and Madras to name a few. While Charan lauds Soodhu Kavvum , he feels AK takes the cake. “Perhaps I’m biased to a project that’s close to my heart,” he says with a grin.
