Prabhakaran, Tanya’s crime thriller unit shoots in the city

There are vanity vans and cars parked inside the two-storey Mani Mahal, one of the famous shooting spots in Chennai. While there are hardly any people on the ground floor, a few masked men, maintaining social distancing are shooting for a scene in the room. It is Tanya Ravichandran who is the only person unmasked as she is all ears to her director SR Prabhakaran. Cameras roll and Tanya, who plays a cop in the film investigates a crime. “The entire film is related to a criminal investigation. So today’s scene too is related to that. I haven’t played a cop yet. This is the fourth day of the shoot, and I am already excited,” she says. This is also Prabhakaran’s maiden production venture under his banner Pankajam Dreams Productions. “We have requested everyone to adhere to strict safety norms. We have even reduced the number of people on the sets. However, we have ensured that the shoot doesn’t slow down. This is a set of an Assistant Commissioner of Police’s office, and the film is predominantly being shot in Chennai. We would shift to Kodaikanal and either Pollachi or Kerala in the coming days,” he tells us.

Tanya says that shooting in the new normal hasn’t reduced the fun factor on the sets. “There is no dearth of fun shooting for the film. Meanwhile, we are also being cautious about safety protocols. My mom has been making me drink herbal potions almost every day,” says Tanya and points to her mom who was assisting her. Talking about turning a producer, Prabhakaran says, “It was my late sister’s Pankajam’s dream that I would make it bigtime in the celluloid world sometime. Hence, I named my production Pankajam Dreams. This project is untitled yet and will be different than all my previous films which were based down south.” Tanya says that she has looked up to Prabhakaran’s work in Sundarapandian and Idhu Kathirvelanin Kaadhal as they go back to the shot.