Modern Love Chennai: Why Kishore feels that Bharathiraja was ideal to handle their film Paravai Kootil Vaazhum Maangal

For actor Kishore, being a part of the latest anthology series Modern Love Chennai was an opportunity too good to pass up. On the one hand, he would get to collaborate with the very discerning Thiagarajan Kumararaja (the showrunner), with whom he was meant to work many years ago on Aaranya Kaandam. "I was supposed to be part of the film but things did not fall in place at the time because of various reasons. So, this time around, when he approached me with this story, I did not want to let go of the chance," says Kishore.

Also Read:
Modern Love Chennai: Kishore on working with Bharathiraja, being a romantic & more 

Another equally compelling reason to venture into the six-part series is Bharathiraja, a filmmaker that Kishore has looked up to for the longest time. Once he checked Kumararaja's name off the list, having someone of the repute of Bharathiraja at the helm came as a 'blessing' and the fact that Ilaiyaraaja, too, was involved only made things sweeter. And just as he hoped, his film Paravai Kootil Vaazhum Maangal has garnered great reviews from all corners with a majority of them declaring that it is one of the top two segments of the anthology.

"Now that the film is out for everyone to watch, I must say that I couldn't have thought of anyone else except Bharathiraja sir to handle our particular story. If you take a look at his filmography, each of his films - from Sigappu Rojakkal to Muthal Mariyathai - boasts characters that were ahead of time. Sure, there were a few commercial tropes but those ideas were quite radical. And when someone like him chose to direct such a sweet & tender story in Modern Love Chennai, I found it to be rather exciting. Even the milieu is quite different, there is every bit of Bharathiraja in our film - it is about a set of people who are well within the confines of society but it's their attempt to push the envelope a little and step beyond those confines that makes it so interesting. Every character in this story is sensitive and also conflicted (and perhaps those aspects are interdependent) and perhaps it is that sensitivity in those characters that pushes them to find a solution to a slightly tricky conflict. 

"The title is a beautiful metaphor - of a 'deer living in a bird's nest' - and holds a lot of essence. I suppose almost every single life around us is living a lie of some kind because we have been tied down - and if you actually look around, almost every relationship looks 'bogus' but we still try to convince ourselves to go on. Maybe it is true that we have created an illusion for ourselves to believe the lies we tell ourselves and not truly be in love. So, that's where I feel our segment is quite impactful because it tackles this tricky topic of being true to one's feelings. There's, of course, the external conflict that we all get to see but the characters also go on their own internal journies," adds Kishore.