Anurag Kashyap's character will be the epicenter of Imaikkaa Nodigal, says director Ajay Gnanamuthu

Director Ajay Gnanamuthu wanted a never seen before antagonist for his action thriller film Imaikkaa Nodigal. Ace Tamil filmmaker Gautham Vasudev Menon was Ajay’s first choice. “Gautham sir was impressed with the script and shown a great interest to be a part of the film but he had multiple projects in the pipeline including Vikram’s Dhruva Natchathiram and Dhanush’s Enai Nokki Paayum Thota so we started looking for other options”, says Ajay, who was an erstwhile associate of director AR Murugadoss.

“When we were looking for a suitable replacement, loved Anurag Kashyap’s screen presence in Akira trailer. Later, approached Anurag sir through my guru Murugadoss. After a few minutes of my narration, Anurag sir said he would play the antagonist in my film. His character will be the epicenter of Imaikkaa Nodigal”, says Ajay to Firstpost.

“I was excited and nervous with Anurag sir’s inclusion because he is a genius filmmaker whereas I’m a one film old director but there was absolutely no interference from his side, he encouraged me right from the first shot. Everyone in the team was impressed with the first scene of Anurag but when we asked him to see the monitor, he refused. Anurag sir said it’s my film and he would only perform by following my instructions”, adds the director.

Ajay had previously made a horror thriller Demonte Colony but Imaikkaa Nodal was his first script. “Atharvaa (Imaikaa Nodigal’s hero) and I met many producers for Imaikkaa Nodigal but there were budget constraints. Only after the hit of Demonte Colony, everything fell into place”. The teaser of Imaikkaa Nodigal hints that the film basically revolves around three characters— Atharvaa, Anurag, and Nayanthara. The film has popular Telugu actress Raashi Khanna as Atharvaa’s romantic interest and the happening actor Vijay Sethupathi also plays a special cameo.

Nayanthara plays a CBI officer Anjali Vikramadityan in the film. “For Anjali’s character, I know only Nayanathara can bring justice and approached her, she readily came on board. Unlike other action heroines we have seen in Tamil cinema, Anjali uses her brain more than brawn. However, there are enough scenes to attract action lovers. Atharvaa has pulled off many deadly action sequences in the film, we shot live cycle stunts with him on Bangalore flyover”, he says.

For Ajay, thriller genre is the safest bet. “I’m a big fan of thriller movies. For me, a film should hook the audience from the first scene. As a matter of fact, the basic idea of Demonte Colony is to make it as a thriller happening in one room but the horror element gave it a different color”, explains Ajay who says that a twenty minutes sequence in Imaikkaa Nodigal will not have any dialogues and heaps praise on his composer Hiphop Tamizha for his work. “I’ve listened to the rough theme track he has composed, it’s definitely on a different level and I’m eagerly waiting to see the film with his background score”, reveals Ajay Gnanamuthu.

The shoot of Imaikkaa Nodigal was wrapped up a few months back and currently, the team is busy with the post-production works. “We will soon unveil a brand new theatrical trailer with the release date”, signs off the director.