Exclusive! Sai Pallavi is a perfectionist and has nailed her role in Gargi: Gautham Ramachandran

Gautham Ramachandran loves to tell stories. Obsessively. It took him a while to listen to his instincts and find something he wanted to do after his directorial debut, Richie (2017). Although he got two or three offers, post the release of Nivin Pauly-starrer, he couldn't pursue them. "I wouldn't say they weren't good enough, but I wasn't ready within," he says. In the meantime, the lawyer-turned-director had written a couple of scripts. And, Gautham chanced upon the idea of Gargi (which has Sai Pallavi in the titular role), with his co-writer Hariharan Raju, in the Covid-induced lockdown.

The first look of Gargi was released on social media, on Sai Pallavi's birthday, along with a glimpse of its making. Gautham says he never had a specific actor in mind while writing the script. "I conceived Gargi as a story that needed to be told."

Gautham wanted to cast someone, who is a "natural performer", and felt Sai Pallavi was tailor-made for that role. "She has this girl-next-door image. What she brought to the film was indescribable."

Sai Pallavi had read the script via e-mail and asked Gautham why he wanted to tell this story. "I told her my reasons, and she was, eventually, convinced. I have heard that she's picky about projects. And, that was my first 'yes' moment," he recalls with a laugh.

Gargi also marks Sai Pallavi's debut in Kannada, and she has dubbed her lines. "It's unbelievable how she learnt the language pretty fast. By the fifth day, everyone, including Rakshit Shetty, was in for a pleasant surprise. She's a perfectionist, and simply nailed it," says Gautham.

The director, however, is tightlipped about the story and the characters, but says he consciously tried to stay away from the regular elements of making a film in the courtroom drama genre. "We have adopted a fly-on-the-wall style filming, which adds to the drama quotient. It allows the audience to be the witness to the events that unfold on the screen. A certain approach was needed for the telling of that story."

Gautham assures the audience will find it refreshing to watch Gargi. "I wanted to tell a different story. At the same time, I tried to keep the narrative as genuine as possible, instead of sticking to a template."

Quiz him on the title, and pat comes his answer, "Gargi (the name) is as Indian as it gets. In fact, I received a couple of calls asking if the film had a Russian connection!"

Personal satisfaction ranks above all else for this filmmaker, and Gautham is candid about it. What more can he tell us about Gargi? He tells this reporter, "You're a journalist. If you wake up to the news that a case has been filed against you, at least, you'd know where to go, and whom to contact. Here, Sai Pallavi's character has no clue about the legal procedures. In films, generally, every legal practice happens quickly. But, in reality, that's not the case. Every procedure takes its sweet course of time. We've explored that. Since I'm a lawyer myself, the audience can expect the experience to be real, and rooted!"

Gautham, who assisted Rajiv Menon and Mysskin, felt that there could be no better judges than outsiders for him to gauge public response. Over the last six months, he screened his film to random people, including his gym trainer. He has had close to 50 shows thus far. He laughs, "I picked someone who was smoking on the streets and made him watch Gargi. Sir, coffee/tea laam irukku; vaanga, saaptute padam paarunga; I invited them."

Further, Gautham had screened Gargi to filmmakers Premkumar of 96 fame and Balaji Tharaneetharan. "When I had a writer's block, it was Balaji, who provided me with a perspective, so that I moved in a particular direction. It was immensely helpful," he states.

Having shot in and around Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore, Gargi, which has Kaali Venkat and Saravanan of Paruthiveeran-fame, in key roles, was filmed for 55-60 days.

Primarily, a Tamil film, Gargi will also be released in Telugu and Kannada. "We are deciding on a theatrical release. You can expect the film to hit the screens in three months."

Gargi was announced after Gautham had shot the entire film. He felt it was not necessary to publicise every phase of the production work. "Already, there's an overload of information on social media. We end up putting out announcements after announcements; and, by the time a film comes out, it feels stale. So, we locked the release date, and worked towards the same."

In addition to Gautham, Ravichandran Ramachandran, Malayalam actor Aishwarya Lekshmi (of Jagame Thanthiram-fame), and Thomas George produce Gargi. "For a few years now, I have known Aishwarya. She was one of the first people to come on board when I was looking for producers. She was thrilled when I told her I had plans to bring Sai Pallavi on board. Also, Aishwarya plays a cameo in the film," he says.

Gargi has music by Govind Vasantha, cinematography by Sraiyanti and Premkrishna Akkattu, and editing by Shafique Mohamed Ali.