Films titled after delicious food items always attract Tamil audiences. Itly, which is almost a staple food in every Tamilian’s breakfast is the title of Vidhyadharan’s next. Produced by Babu Thooyavan, the film has three veterans — Saranya Ponvannan, ‘Kovai’ Sarala and late Kalpana playing grandmothers on screen.
At the teaser launch of Itly, Sarala and Saranya shared their experiences working in the film even as they reminisced about how they missed their buddy Kalpana. “She was a jovial person and used to keep us in splits with her funny jokes. We miss her a lot. The film is not like a routine entertainer, which you come across in Tamil cinema. So, shooting for the film was altogether a new experience,” they added.
Vidhyadharan known for his movies like Vaidheeswaran, said, “Though it is a comic caper, it also has a message in it. I have added all commercial elements in proper proportions. Three grandmas are my lead protagonists. ‘Itly’ is actually the acronym of Inba, Twinkle and Lilly played by these three actresses. The various incidents they come across in their life and how they tackle it cleverly forms the crux. The novelty in Itly is that there are no action sequences or songs in the movie.”
He adds, “I first approached Saranya to narrate the script. Though she liked the story, she was apprehensive about a particular shot where the three ladies would wield guns for a reason. ‘Will audiences accept this scene?’ she asked me. Even while performing the scene, they had this worry. But, all said and done, they were highly convinced while dubbing their portions.”
