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 With
nearly every second film released in Tamil being a gangster
saga, films with different concepts are being patronised by the
audience. Among the recent releases, coming like a whiff of
fresh air, was 'Chennai-600028'. Produced by S P B Charan (son
of singer S P Balasubramaniam), the film that centered on
cricket played in the bylanes of Chennai, was directed by
debutant Venkat Prabhu, son of music composer-director Gangai
Amaran. Shot on a budget of Rs 1.7 crore, it took just about 59
days to shoot the film. The film's realistic, natural feel, and
the spontaneous performances of its 20-odd debutants has
attracted the young crowd and ensured a positive opening for it.
An overwhelmed Venkat Prabhu talks about his experiences and
apprehensions during the making of the film, which may well turn
out to be a trendsetter.
You've tackled the subject with a lot of
understanding. Cricket seems to be close to your heart?
Yeah.. I'm a street cricketeer too. Earlier,
we lived at Raja Annamalai Puram, and we played on the grounds
near our house. Our team was called 'Evergreen'. You wouldn't
believe the tension and the heart burnings we used to go through
when we played matches against rival teams. All the experiences
that I've had there i've tried to bring into my film. I still
play cricket, in fact, almost the whole cast of 'Chennai-28'
plays too. When I was choosing my cast, I was particular that
they should know the game.
Your film has about 20 fresh faces.
Cricketing and acting are different ball games. Did handling
them for the camera pose problems? Not
really. It was important that they depict the bonding and
closeness as required by their characters. So, we had rehearsals
for nearly one-and-a-half months. I gave them some scenes and
made them interact with each other. By the time the shooting
started, they had established a rapport with each other. And
they could bring this chemistry to screen too.
Was it deliberate or accidental, that you released your film
during the World Cup? With India out of the game, cricketing had
taken a back seat too...
It just happened! We were supposed to release
it much earlier. But shooting got delayed due to various
reasons. Yuvan (Shankar Raja) was busy. And then there was the
rain. And when we finally got ready to release it, it was the
fag-end of the World Cup. And, yes, I was a bit apprehensive
that the cricket fever would have subsided, due to India's poor
performance in the early stage itself. And that as a result our
movie may not evoke much interest. But I'm thankful that it
didn't happen that way and that our film has generated so much
interest, particularly among the young crowd.
You seem to be having a good tuning with Charan?
True...We are childhood buddies. We, that is Charan, my brother
Premji and I have a music band called 'Next Generation', which
we started in 1996. We have done a lot of stage performances
since then... Shortly, we'll be going to Dubai for a
performance. When Charan produced his first film 'Unnai
Charan Adainthen', he and me played the heroes in that.
Since then I've acted in quite a few films. And when I toyed
with the idea of directing a film, it was Charan who motivated
me to go ahead. In fact, he had more confidence in me than I had
in myself! When we met Balu uncle (SPB) the only thing he asked
me was "Can you.?" And I replied "...I can..." And that was it!
What were the hurdles you experienced on the way?
 Just minor ones, nothing major. Financially, it was smooth
sailing. With Balu uncle backing us, any hassles and he would
promptly sort it out for us. We shot for a total of 59 days. We
shot two songs in Thailand and one in Pondicherry. The rest of
the shoot was in Chennai. I was a bit apprehensive while
shooting the climax scene of the match between the 'Rockers' and
the 'Sharks'. I didn't want it to be cinema. Also, I was
particular that we shouldn't waste too much of raw stock by
going for retakes. I had told Charan that I would need 20 days
to shoot it. But we managed to finish the climax in 10 days.
You came with no training or experience... What gave you the
confidence that you could carry it through?
I was in London for about seven years. I did my high school and
my university studies there. After that I worked in a theatre
there, where I got to see three films a day. And on my off days
too I used to watch a lot of films. That was my only tryst with
films. And when I came down to Chennai, I acted in some films.
It was when I told Charan my intention to direct and the concept
I had in mind that things started rolling. He decided to back
me. But yes, there was a bit of a fear whether I could carry it
through. But Charan lent me the confidence. And my cameraman
Sakthi Saravanan too was of great help. He has worked for
serials and ads, but this was his first film. And there was
Yuvan Shanker Raja (Venkat's cousin) who despite his busy
schedule was so cooperative. His music is being talked about
too. Incidentally, my brother Premji, who apprentices under
Yuvan, did the background score for the film.
What was the reaction from you colleagues?
 Some
of the directors and actors called up to say how much they liked
the film. Ajit expressed his wish to see the film and I arranged
a show for him. He loved it. He said he couldn't believe that I
could make such a realistic film. Simbu too was so overwhelmed
that he bought the distribution rights for Madurai. All this
happened before the film was released. So they were real morale
boosters for us. We are getting positive reviews from the media.
The audiences too are taking to it. It's doing really well in
the main cities and urban areas. Finally,
what was the scariest thought that crossed your mind when you
began the film? Actually, after some
hitches when the shoot started, the date happened to be 7/8/06.
And I took it as an auspicious sign. But yes, I did get a scary
thought. I haven't opened up about this before to anyone. The
night before the shoot, I went alone to the R A Puram grounds
where we had played our childhood cricket. It was early morning,
about 1 a.m. I spent about two hours alone there. Sitting in the
dark, scared and praying that everything should go well.
For, I knew that i was mixing friendship with money and
business. And that it was a dangerous thing to do. My friend
Charan had invested so much money to back me. And my fear was
that if things went wrong or awry it may end in disaster. And I
didn't want that to happen. That was the scariest thought in my
mind! But thank God, it's all turned out for the best!
Malini Mannath
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