Shooting for Kattil taught me Tamil culture: Srushti

Kattil team was shooting in Kodambakkam on a busy afternoon. The director-producer of the film Ganesh Babu was seen in veshti and narrating the scene as Srushti Dange dressed in a blue saree is all ears. “Today is the final day of the shoot. We completed the major portions of the film before the lockdown and this is a patchwork that we believed is required for the script. Hence, we shot for four days. The shoot would go on till late in the night and then it’s a wrap for the film,” says Ganesh Babu who takes us around to show the safety protocol being followed. “We are shooting with a minimal crew with masks and sanitisers. Moreover, I made it a point to provide insurance for my entire crew and even if they shoot for other films, the insurance would still be valid,” he tells us. Ganesh was recently awarded the Medical Excellence Award for his contribution by the Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan. “Having made short films on COVID awareness for the government, I should be the first one to follow the safety protocols, so I had to practise what I preached,” he adds. Srushti waves at us and says how important Kattil is to her list. “Shooting for this film taught me Tamil culture and the values. The film is a sentimental drama and I understood why certain household possessions are close to Tamil people’s hearts. I play a married woman, wife to Ganesh Babu in the film and this is not a run-of-the-mill character,” the actress says.

Srushti says that shooting in the new normal was a bit weird. “We need to maintain certain distancing and you see elderly technicians on the sets wearing masks for hours. Even I was initially apprehensive to fly down to Chennai from Mumbai with several protocols in the airport. I couldn’t say ‘no’ because I know the script will strike a chord with the audience once it releases,” she smiles. Ganesh Babu concludes by saying that Kattil will release in theatres.