Director TG Keerthi Kumar: Malli Modalaindi is based on an incident in my friend's life

Starring Sumanth, Naina Ganguly, Varshini Sounderajan in the lead, Malli Modalaindi released on ZEE5 directly on February 11

Keerthi Kumar

Malli Modalaindi, which premiered directly on ZEE5, was one among the many Telugu releases last weekend. The film, helmed by TG Keerthi Kumar, starred Sumanth, Naina Ganguly, Varshini Sounderajan, Vennela Kishore and others in lead roles. The story of the relationship drama revolves around a divorcee, Vikram, who falls in love with Pavithra, the divorce lawyer for his wife. Commemorating its release, the director, in an interaction with media, spoke at length about the film, the casting, the inspiration behind it and why the makers had to opt for an OTT release.

"The film traces the journey of a middle-aged man after his divorce. We've tried to look at a sensitive issue with a touch of humour. I'm happy to be making my Telugu debut with Malli Modalaindi. I spent a major part of my life in Chennai, ventured into direction in 2014 with a Tamil film and later did a lot of ad films. I shifted to Hyderabad with the hope of making a Telugu film," he said.

Elaborating on how he brought Sumanth on board for the film, Keerthi Kumar shared,"I and Sumanth (garu) met through a common friend. After writing the script, I mailed the synopsis to him and Sumanth later asked me to send the entire story. He immediately agreed to come on board. He was my only choice for the film. His age, ideas towards marriage made me feel he'll do justice to the theme."

Talking of the incidents that pushed him to make Malli Modalaindi, the director mentioned, "I was inspired to write Malli Modalandi based on a real incident in my friend's life, who got divorced and married later. We introduced the lawyer character in the story as a form of cinematic liberty. We took suggestions from several divorcees before the making and we were advised to approach the story with a comedic touch."

"Malli Modalaindi never resorts to vulgarity at any point and can be watched with family audiences. Of course, a story like this has an element of risk because it'll only appeal to a niche audience. After the editing, we hoped to release the film in multiplexes but the COVID-19 scenario forced the producers to take the OTT route, thanks to a good offer from ZEE5," the filmmaker further added, justifying why it had to go for a direct digital premiere.

Discussing his filmmaking sensiblities, he stated, "I enjoy writing no-holds-barred commercial entertainers. The tastes of Telugu audiences have taken a turn for the better during the lockdown and it's a welcome sign to notice their liking for content-driven cinema. I'm in the middle of writing several new-age stories."

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