Nerungi Vaa Muthamidathe Press Meet Report

Silverscreen goes to the Nerungi Vaa Muthamidathe press meet

On a sultry afternoon, we had an outdoor meet with the team of Nerungi Vaa Muthamidathe at AVM Studios. Despite the scorching sun that ruined women’s make-up and dampened men’s shirts, and despite having been made to talk aloud because of the lack of a mic, the Nerungi Vaa Muthamidathe team was in good spirits. The posters in the venue hinted that the movie is about a lorry driver, and actor Shabeer, who plays the lead role, was seen sporting a beard, thundu and lungi in the first-look pictures. The poster reminded us of Vijay Sethupathi from Pannaiyarum Padminiyum, and when we told Shabeer that he looked like a vellai Vijay Sethupathi, he blushed.

Nerungi Vaa Muthamidathe is actor and director Lakshmy Ramakrishnan’s second directorial venture after Aarohanam. She took us through the journey of making her second film, which is set in the backdrop of a petrol crisis. “It’s a travel subject. The lives of four strangers intersect on a particular day; when they are experiencing severe petrol crisis. The film was predominantly shot on roads and our entire team has toiled hard,” revealed Lakshmy. After her explanation, the flick’s name made sense. Although Nerungi Vaa Muthamidathe sounds like a romantic film, it’s a common phrase that’s written on lorries to warn the vehicles in line to maintain some distance.

Shabeer, who is a certified yoga instructor, was apparently chosen by Lakshmy even when the actor’s response was negative to all the questions that Lakshmy posed during their meeting. “She asked me a series of questions like if I could sing, if I could at least hum. I honestly don’t sing. And likewise, I had to say ‘no’ for everything. But in the end, she told me that I’d be a part of her project,” said Shabeer with a sense of wonder. Piaa Bajpai plays the female lead and the actress couldn’t participate in the meet. However, she promptly wished the team through Twitter.

Interestingly, Sruthi Hariharan of Lucia fame, plays a special role in Nerungi Vaa Muthamidathe. The ultra modern Sruthi will be seen as a rural girl in the flick. “Lakshmy aunty has crafted my role artfully. Although I play a rural girl, she is confident, adamant and broad-minded. It is rare to find such roles,” said Sruthi. We were slightly taken aback when Sruthi addressed director Lakshmy as ‘aunty’, but the actress was quick to explain. “If you are wondering, I call her ‘aunty’ because we were neighbours in Muscat. She saw me in Lucia and was trying to get hold of me. When she found me, I was ready to work for her. Why would I say no to aunty!” she laughed.

Actress Viji, who made a comeback with Lakshmy’s Aarohanam, declared that she will associate herself with all projects of Lakshmy. “She re-discovered me. I will forever be grateful to Lakshmy for that. And so, I will, at least, be a permanent fixture in her films,” said Viji.

Nerungi Vaa Muthamidathe has been filmed in Chennai, Thanjavur, Trichy, Kumbakonam, Karaikkal, Neyveli and Malaysia. Actors Ambika, Thambi Ramaiah and Y Gee Mahendra form the supporting cast. Vinoth Bharathi wields the camera and Sabu Joseph does editing. Madley Blues is composing music and AV Anoop is producing the film for AVA Productions.