Vadhandhi will intrigue the global audience with its cliffhangers’

CHENNAI: The team of Amazon Original series Vadhandhi meets us in the city ahead of its release in the next couple of weeks. Creative producers of the Suzhal and Vadhandhi, Pushkar-Gayatri are the first to enter the venue followed by director Andrew Louis. SJ Suryah follows him along with Nasser, Smruthi Venkat and Sanjana.

Andrew is an erstwhile assistant to SJ Surya. “I have assisted him in films and three scripts. For Vaali, Kushi in three languages and New. When he decided to make his acting debut in New, I was one of the first few people who pleaded with him not to foray into acting,” he laughs. Pushkar laughs, “Cut to 18 years later, Andrew directed one of the best actors in the country. Andrew and I were classmates In Loyola. We still remember how Vaali’s script took off in Loyola’s hostel.”

SJ Suryah joins the conversation and he addresses Andrew politely as sir, “Yes, I remember Andrew sir coming to me and asking if he could be my assistant. The way he handles a unit, the command he has on the sets amazed me. I didn’t or couldn’t see Andrew as my assistant. He has done a great job. In fact, he tells me a meter for a specific scene. There was one scene in which he wanted me to mellow down. I did a Sivaji aiyya performance to which he said, this is good but I need a toned down Sivaji aiyya’s performance,” says SJ Suryah.

Vadhandhi is set in the milieus of Kanyakumari and is based on an Anglo Indian family. “The film isn’t based on real life. As the title suggests, it is based on a rumour. While our previous series Suzhal was set in the backdrop of Mayaanakolai, Vadhandhi is a pure crime investigation thriller in which a cop named Vivek (SJ Suryah) is on a hunt. Andrew chose Kanyakumari’s backdrop because the story happens within a circle and everyone knows everyone in the town,” says Pushkar. “Yes, initially, I set the story in an urban backdrop. But we have seen stories in Chennai or Ooty backdrops that are clichéd. So. Kanyakumari ended up as my starting point. Also, when the content is strong, backdrop doesn’t really matter,” adds Andrew. “Our goal is to keep the international audience glued. Hence, we have packed the show with right cliffhangers and a story which appeals to everyone,” says Suryah.

Nasser is one artiste who has seen it all. From stage, to television to movies and now OTT. “Come on. An actor is an actor wherever he is. I hate it when someone says, ‘Oh a television actor has no future. He is an actor too. Again, I don’t agree with people who tell a female actor about asking her to comment on playing a mother. A story is a story and we all are characters in it. It is high time people understood it,” he concludes.