Exclusive! I like writing happy-go-lucky characters and those works best in romantic films like Raymo: Pavan Wadeyar

Pavan Wadeyar is not a filmmaker who gets overly excited about success or bogged down by failure. In the last 10 years, he’s powered through the highs and lows of his career with a smile across his face. This is an element that he likes to see in his onscreen characters too – people who are youthful and happy – and that, he believes is best portrayed in love stories.

This week, Pavan returns to the romance genre with the musical Raymo. The film is a launchpad of sorts for its leading man, Ishan, whose debut film, the Telugu-Kannada bilingual Rogue got him more visibility in Tollywood than back home. “I had met Ishan at a south Indian film award event in Dubai where he was felicitated as Best Debutant. There was something about him that struck me and I approached him with the possibility of a collaboration. At the time, I had a very basic thread of the story, which I then developed into a full-fledged script keeping Ishan and his capabilities as an artiste in mind. Raymo will properly introduce Ishan to Kannada film audiences,” says Pavan.

The film is a love story between two people who are as different as chalk and cheese. “He’s a flamboyant, hard-partying rockstar, while she is the more demure classical singer. Physically also they are very different, with Raymo (Ishan) towering over Mohana (Ashika Ranganath). The question is if love can overcome the challenges posed by their differing personalities,” says the filmmaker. Pavan adds that one of the jokes on set was the height difference between Ishan and Ashika. “There’s a stool that is as much a character as Mohana; it’s just not in the frame,” laughs Pavan, adding, “In fact, for an outdoor shot of Ashika hugging Ishan at a slightly rocky location, we had to find a stone that was just the right height and get her to stand on it, while Ishan was at the bottom.”

The love story apart, Pavan believes that the biggest USP of the film is its music. If Ishan and Ashika are the onscreen stars, offscreen it is music composer Arjun Janya. “As soon as I told Arjun the story, he had some ideas and barely took any time to come back to me with his compositions. He understood what I was looking for. There are six songs in the film, each better than the other. Arjun has really pushed himself and composed songs that will be talked about. Interestingly, we did not rework any of the songs in the film or come up with alternate versions. What he composed initially remained till the end. In fact, there is a Sufi music bit as part of the background score, which is extraordinary; I am hoping to get Arjun to sing and release as a special track,” says the director.

The film, meanwhile, is getting its premiere at IFFI on November 24, for which Pavan, Ishan, and Ashika will head to Goa. “Once back, I will head into the post-production of my debut Hindi film, Notary, which deals with a man who just cannot lie. We shot the film across locations in Bhopal and Mumbai. I needed a city that would provide an artistic backdrop, whether it is with the old buildings or the lakes. In the film water signifies transparency or rather, the truth and that works well for the protagonist,” he signs off.