Urumi is an Entertainer: Santosh Sivan

The trailer of his film has already created a sensation. TOI chats up with Santosh Sivan...

Internationally-reputed

cinematographer and director Santosh Sivan's Urumi, which is being made in Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi, is making waves even before its release. The one-minute trailer of the film has become the most viewed and discussed Indian film on the Internet. Santosh, who is currently busy with the post-production work along with his National Award-winning editor Sreekar Prasad, talks to Chennai Times about his film...

Urumi is your costliest film till date and its promos have been appreciated. What's the film about?

Urumi is a story that takes place in the 16th century in the North Malabar area of Kerala. It is about four young men who plot to assassinate the Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama. History books state that Vasco Da Gama discovered India, visited the Malabar coast and went back with a lot of pepper. Our story tells the real truth — that he was actually an invader who murdered nearly 400 Muslims who were on a ship making its way back from Mecca. A group of young men in and around Kozhikode plan to assassinate Vasco and that's the plot of the movie.

You are known for your critically-acclaimed films like The Terrorist, Tahaan and Before the Rains. Are you turning commercial with Urumi?

(Smiles) I know that I have an image as a children's filmmaker who also makes serious films in different genres. With Urumi, I'm trying out something totally different from my earlier films. Yes, it does have popular commercial cinema ingredients like big stars, four songs, exotic locations, superbly-choreographed action scenes (including never- before-seen sword fights), romance, human emotions, patriotism and humour. I'd say that Urumi is an entertainer but designed like a thriller.

You have pulled of a major coup by signing top Bollywood and Kollywood actors in one film...

Urumi had a big canvas and required stars. Prithviraj plays the protagonist in the film and is also one of the producers of the film. Prabhu Deva has as much importance as Prithviraj in the story. Genelia plays a princess and a Portugese killer; her character is etched out of a real-life princess who lived in Kannur during the 16th century. She has done some awesome sword fight scenes and is the romantic pair of Prithvi. Vidya Balan plays an oracle and there are other fine actresses like Tabu and Nithya Menen. Arya plays a crucial role in the film. And then, there are seasoned artists like Amol Gupte, Ankur Sharma and Jagathy. British actor Alex (of Madrasapattinam fame) plays Vasco Da Gama. The film has music by Deepak Dev, who was a keyboard player with A R Rahman. Kalaripayattu experts Ulhas and Madhu have choreographed three of the songs and all the action scenes.

Normally, all your films are premiered at prestigious international festivals...

Urumi (in Malayalam and Tamil) is scheduled to release on March 31. A shorter abridged version in English that tells the story of the warriors who wanted to kill Vasco Da Gama will make it to the festivals. It will have a different storyline as the viewpoint changes.

SOURCE : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/regional/news-interviews/Urumi-is-an-entertainer-Santosh-Sivan/articleshow/7570759.cms

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