Team Kabadadhaari travels back in time

Caravans and SUVs were parked outside G Dhananjayan’s Blue Ocean Film and Television Academy (BOFTA) building, where the shoot of Kabadadhaari’s final schedule was taking place in full swing. Dhananjayan greets us and takes us to the shooting floor, where the Telugu version of the film with Sumanth was progressing. “The shoot is on track and we had things planned right from the beginning. Shooting simultaneously in two languages can sometimes be tasking if things aren’t planned well. There were days when we shot for Tamil and Telugu separately. However, today as you can see we are having Sibi Sathyaraj and Sumanth shooting for their portions in turns.”

Pradeep Krishnamoorthy explains to us the day’s plan. “We started shooting at nine in the morning and will go on till six in the evening. Today we will see Sibi and Sumanth, shooting for a song in which the case dates back to 1970s. Once we finish Sumanth’s portions, Sibi will join us,” he tells us and goes for the shot. Sumanth dressed in a blue shirt and khaki trouser goes through a few case files and the camera pans into the complainants as the camera goes round trolley. Pradeep looks at the monitor and approves the take. Sumanth says, “I have six more days of shoot left for the Telugu version of the film that’s titled Kapatadhaari. This is the first time I am sporting only a moustache for my film, in which I will be playing a traffic cop and the look has been received well by the Telugu audience. The entire shooting process was organic.” The actor adds that the film, which is a remake of the Kannada hit film Kavaludaari will be different in presentation. “I have seen the film and I liked the story. Tamil and Telugu audiences have started accepting films that have strong content and not your stereotypical commercial potboiler,” he tells us. Sibi enters the shoot floor. Kabadadhaari is Sibi’s second film with Pradeep after Sathya. “We are shooting for a song montage today. Pradeep as a director has evolved since Sathya. He has picked up the pace in approving shots. Also, I am familiar with his working style and I get the gist of what he wants to convey. The shoot has been smooth so far and I have completed 95 per cent of my portions,” says Sibi and leaves for the shot. “Working in a bilingual film is exciting. I have a Telugu writer who translates the dialogues into Tamil to suit me,” he concludes.