'Dinosaurs will be unique film from north Chennai'

CHENNAI: The team of Dinosaurs walks into our office as director Madhavan is busy with last minute release work. Udhay and Sai Priya Deva are involved in a conversation pertaining to the film as Maheswari casually takes a stroll. The team settles down for the interview when Madhavan and Srinivas join us along with Maara. The film’s promotional videos and posters gave us a feeler of a raw and rustic film made in the backdrop of north Chennai. “This will not be similar to any of the previous films that were released in Tamil. There were several films that have the same backdrop, but Dinosaurs will be the first-of-its kind. I was quite sold even as Madhavan narrated it. His narration showed the confidence he has in the script,” says Udhay.

Maheswari had no idea what her brother was upto until Udhay told her about the movie. “Whenever I tried to reach him, he was either unavailable or there where there was disturbances in the background with loud noises. I told my mother something was wrong. Only after he wrapped up the project, he showed us the glimpses from the movie. We were proud of what the team had come up with. I am here for the team because I have seen the final product and we are all happy with it,” the Ullasam actor tells us.

Sai Priya, who has a formidable filmography to her name, says that Dinosaurs will be yet another film that she can be proud of. “I have played a Coimbatore girl and I agreed to do the film because when Madhavan narrated it, I realised that it is not another clichéd, run-of-the-mill heroine that comes on the screen. She takes the story forward and that is the kind of films I have been signing. My character has a Coimbatore background, and was raised in Chennai. So, I don’t speak the north Chennai dialect or even the Coimbatore dialect. I would have loved to dub for my role, but unfortunately I couldn’t because of a date clash with another project,” she opens up. The film has ‘Die No Sirs’ along with the original title. Madhavan says, “The script and the characters are as big as Dinosaurs. These people play proper north Chennai guys and the typical characters that we grew up with. Also, the film has some positivity to it, which is why we chose to keep ‘Die No Sirs’ along with the title.”

The film was shot across 60 days and Madhavan says that meticulous planning was needed. “We did proper rehearsals and everything was on paper before we went on floors. Other producers told me I would need a minimum of 100 days for this movie. However, I took only 60 days including patchwork,” he smiles.

Producer Srinivas too adds and says, “I am an academician and have helped several students in getting proper education. I saw this team as my students and didn’t think twice before investing. They have given a complete product.” Actor Maara has been with the director from the beginning. “I know what the director wants from my role or each one of us because we have doubled up as technicians, as we want Madhavan to accomplish his vision. He has made this film with so much passion and I am glad we have been instrumental in it,” he concludes.