Director Rajkumar Periasamy Interview: On Amaran, mounting a military project and casting Sivakarthikeyan

Director Rajkumar Periasamy who earlier helmed Rangoon, is back with another film, Amaran. It is almost like homecoming for the director, as he reunites with Kamal Haasan whom he directed for the previous seasons of Bigg Boss Tamil show. With Kamal Haasan and R Mahendran as producers of Amaran, the film stars Sivakarthikeyan and Sai Pallavi, who have known Rajkumar for lon g.

Speaking about the film, Rajkumar says, “Many think that Amaran is a war film. It is not. Amaran is a slice-of-life drama of a soldier. It is a journey about their family, the situation in Kashmir, the role of Army. At no point, I have not thrusted my political ideology into the film.”

Why Sivakarthikeyan was chosen for Amaran?

We did not write the story keeping any actor in mind. In fact, while discussing the casting at Raaj Kamal Films International office, Kamal sir suggested that we launch a new face. The choice was debated much. At the same time, I had met Indhu Rebecca Varghese, wife of Major Mukund and I had come to know that since the latter had resemblances of actor Madhavan, he was called Maddy. His operative codename was also Maddy. When we were looking for someone like him, Indhu mam had suggested that we cast an artiste with Tamil roots. That is how Siva’s name came into being because he is someone who hoists flag for every patriotic day. I wanted to pitch to him.

How did you pitch Amaran to Sivakarthikeyan?

When I went to narrate the story of Amaran to SK, he was shooting for Don and I think even Doctor had not released. I did not tell Kamal Haasan is the producer and had narrated to him for about two hours. Only after he accepted to do it, I revealed to him about the producer.

Is Amaran based on a book?

Sony Pictures which is part of Amaran’s production team, owns the rights of the book India's Most Fearless: True Stories of Modern Military Heroes. This became the inception of the film. The book has documented the courageous tale of a Tamil man, for about 10 pages. Initially, I had thought of Major Saravanan and later came to know about Major Mukund. While the book had only detailed about his operation, I wanted to make a biographical picture and met his family, friends, and took some portions from the book, to make Amaran. There are certain fictional elements that adhere to reality as well.

How did you make sure Sivakarthikeyan prepared for his role?

I believe in script, and if you have well-written screenplay, it will have all the details. Sivakarthikeyan has about 2-3 looks in the film, Lieutenant, Captain and Major. Apart from that, he also took the responsibility to meet people and learn more about his character. At the same time, we cannot go over-the-top and cannot match up to the military officers.

Also read: Sivakarthikeyan Interview: After Amaran screening, an army officer said I was in the wrong profession 

How did Sai Pallavi come into the project?

She plays Indhu Rebecca Varghese, and is the anchor point to this film. She was the one who received the Ashoka Chakra award for her husband Major Mukund, with great amount of determination and strength. But there is a lot of vulnerability behind it. She is a Kerala girl coming to Chennai to study. She is already an outsider, and she is in love with someone and their passion. For all these layered details, I wanted a committed artiste. I have known Sai Pallavi for long and I believed that she will carry this week. That is how she came in.

What was it shooting in Kashmir?

Kashmir is a difficult terrain to shoot. It is politically sensitive and heavily militarised zone. There is always a sense of tension prevailing there. I felt the realistic portrayal of the place important, and hence we chose the location. We had to take several permissions from the Defence department and we had to submit our script for their approval. Only after they give orders for the locations and station liaison officers, we were able to shoot. We had to be extremely cautious about the safety and we worked along with the army to shoot Amaran.

Also read: Amaran 2024: Release date, trailer, cast, crew, plot, censor, runtime, OTT rights - all you need to know