Director AL Vijay’s GV Prakash-starrer Watchman is set to hit screens on April 12. The team recently released a timely poster of the dog featured in the film, holding a board saying, “I am a chowkidaar too,” a dig at prime minister Narendra Modi’s ‘chowkidaar campaign’.
Speaking to Silverscreen, the film’s actor and composer GV Prakash said, “The lead character is a water-can sales boy. He is from the lower-middle class. He lives in a small housing board, and the story is about how this normal man finds himself in an extraordinary, life-threatening situation. The film happens within one night, and it is about the changes in the boy’s life during these hours.”
A dog plays a central character in this film. “He is a guardian of his master. I can’t reveal too much about his character, but he is actually a villain in the film,” said Prakash. Yesterday, the film’s producers – Double Meaning Pictures – released a poster of the dog.
"I am a Chowkidar too" #Watchman releasing worldwide on April 12th.@gvprakash @iYogiBabu #DirectorVijay @DoubleMProd_ #ArunMozhiManickam @DoneChannel1 @thinkmusicindia pic.twitter.com/FLjrbiOJRp
— Double Meaning Productions (@DoubleMProd_) March 18, 2019
This was a dig at PM Modi’s ‘Main Bhi Chowkidaar’ campaign, which refers to him as a watchman who “stands firmly to serve the people of the nation.” Modi and many BJP ministers like Amit Shah and Piyush Goyal added the word chowkidaar to their Twitter handles. #MainBhiChowkidaar was reportedly tweeted 20 lakh times, and had 1680 crore impressions.
Watchman’s creative team then decided to take a dig on the chowkidaar campaign. Actor GV Prakash did not comment on the poster, but he condemned Modi’s silence on issues such as the Pollachi sexual assault case which has left the people of Tamil Nadu and others shocked. “He must speak about the issue at Pollachi, it is really a sad thing,” he said.
For the upcoming mystery thriller, GV Prakash is teaming up as an actor with AL Vijay for the first time. He has previously composed music for Vijay’s films like Madarasapattinam, Deiva Thirumagal, Thalaiva and Thaandavam.
Watchman also stars Suman, Raj Arjun, Nirav Shah and others. The cinematography is by Nirav Shah and Saravanan Ramasamy, Anthony is the editor, and Arunraja Kamaraj has written the lyrics.
The teaser of the film released in November last year. It promised an action-packed film, with Prakash’s character being alternately chased by a dog and humans.
Watch the teaser here:
