Hail the rise of the undead
Miruthan starring Jayam Ravi will be a film based on zombies, the first of its kind in south cinemac
By : anupama subramanian
Update: 2015-11-16 23:25 GMT
Who doesn’t like a good zombie movie? Although the definition of a zombie — reanimated corpses with cannibalistic tendencies — doesn’t sound too appetizing, this film genre is often an amusing, adrenaline-filled experience. Popularised by Hollywood through a host of films that combine elements of comedy, science fiction and even romance, the zombie genre has yet to see much traction here in Indian cinema and especially so, in Kollywood. Well, that is about to change now!
Our K’town filmmaker Shakti Soundar Rajan who hit the limelight with the unique film Naaigal Jakkiradhai, is all set now to introduce the genre in south India with Miruthan, starring Jayam Ravi and Lakshmi Menon in the lead. Though a Bollywood film, Go Goa Gone with Saif Ali khan hit the marquee two years back, it was more of a zom-com, where as Shakti says Miruthan is a serious zombie sci-fi thriller, and the first of its kind.
“I am always keen to explore new genres. My debut flick Naanayam was the first proper heist story, and the recent cop-action film Naaigal Jaagiradhai had a dog playing a full-fledged character for the first time! Now, with horror being the flavour of Kollywood, I thought why not try a zombie-genre film,” Shakti starts his conversation.
Miruthan is a horror science-fiction film that focuses on a virus angle and high-octane action, rather than mere humour. “Right from childhood, I am fond of watching zombie flicks. These films translate without much loss of meaning into various languages. I am confident they will work out here also. Real actors essay most of the creatures, and only few are created with graphics.”
It didn’t come as a surprise when Shakti approached Jayam Ravi, whose last outing Thani Oruvan, an actioner, was a huge blockbuster hit. So how did Shakti who is just two films old, convince Ravi to attempt this new genre?
Ravi has an amazing understanding of genres, not looking at what the director has done before, but deciding to accept a film based on the narration, says Shakti and adds, “He has the uncanny knack of picking up scripts and his judgment is generally good. In fact, there were bigger brands that approached Ravi along with me. I am happy he chose mine.”
Why the name Miruthan? “It is lyricist Madan Karky who penned all the songs in the film, and suggested this title. Miruthan means corpse-man in Tamil and Karky said it is the right coinage in Tamil for zombie. There are few other meanings for Miruthan including ‘victory’,” he tells us. On opting for Lakshmi Menon, Shakti says, “I look at it purely from story angle! Lakshmi will be an ideal choice for the character I had conceived in my mind, and I’m sure she willl deliver.”
Though he is unwilling to disclose anything about the story, he says, Jayam Ravi will be sporting a new look, which he hasn't donned so far. “It is too early to reveal anything about the lead protagonist’s appearance. The suspense factor will be lost if I explain further,” he smiles. Ask him if the film will be dubbed in other languages, and he says, “Zombie genre has a universal appeal. We are subtitling Miruthan and it will hold the interest of audiences across all languages.”
The movie, which is 90 percent complete, is touted to hit the screens during Pongal. It is learnt that though it is a full-on commercial flick, Miruthan would be sent to all international film festivals.