This Diwali the Tamil audience can look forward to a Sivakarthikeyan film that has been produced by none other than Ulaganayagan Kamal Haasan and directed by Rajkumar Periasamy. Amaran is a movie based on the life of Major Mukund Vardarajan, who was killed in an encounter with militants in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian District in 2014. He was posthumously awarded the Ashok Chakra and his life story was featured in the book ‘India’s Most Fearless – True Stories of Modern Military Heroes’, written by Shiv Aroor and Rahul Singh. In an exclusive chat with Hindustan Times, director Rajkumar opened up about the movie and spoke about how Kamal Haasan had wanted a fresh face for the film while Major Mukund’s wife, Indhu Rebecca Varghese, wanted someone with strong Tamil roots.

Casting a ‘fresh’ Sivakarthikeyan

Amaran is a biopic on an army major akin to Adivi Sesh’s Major whose film was based on Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan’s life.

“I think there are no similarities in their life stories except that they are journeys of two selfless soldiers who made sacrifices for the country. Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan was an NSG commando and Major Mukund Varadarajan was a major in the 44th Battalion of Rashtriya Rifles. Both were very strong soldiers,” stated the Rangoon director.

Incidentally, it has been seven years since he directed his last film but he had been busy working on Bigg Boss and another project that eventually fell through. He eventually spent five years on Amaran which is now all set to release for Diwali.

“When we wanted to cast for Major Mukund's role, we were considering several options including newcomers as Kamal sir felt a fresh face would be ideal. I also had Sivakarthikeyan in mind since he was a star but could still connect to the common man. I pitched the story to him without informing Kamal sir and I didn’t tell Sivakarthikeyan who the producer was but he readily agreed to do the film. When I discussed this with Kamal sir, he was very happy and felt Sivakarthikeyan was the right choice because he had never done such a role in his career and it would look fresh on screen. He said that this was the ‘new face’ he was looking for,” explained Rajkumar, adding that the Tamil star then went through numerous workshops in acting, weapons training, physical workouts and army training, to prepare for the role.

Sivakarthikeyan’s hard work and perseverance to ensure he has respected Major Mukund’s legacy will be seen on October 31 when Amaran releases worldwide.

“For me, there were certain expectations from Sivakarthikeyan that were necessary for the role and the film. The first schedule for this movie was only for eight days and this was in Kashmir. They comprised the most important scenes which involved intense dialogues and I was very happy with the kind of work that we had done and the way he performed. His preparation was evident because all the prep was mental and it showed in his performance,” smiled Rajkumar.

The Kamal Haasan Factor

While everyone knows about Kamal Haasan the actor, how was Kamal Haasan the producer? “Kamal sir is a visionary – he is one of the greatest minds in our country. He can assess something very quickly and in just five minutes he understood what Amaran was about. I have worked with Kamal sir (Bigg Boss) and he is a living institution for me. I mean, he is an institution himself. Every day you learn a lot from him and we also share a lot of things with each other. And there was some trust, I believe. (Smiles) And sir said, go ahead,” beams Rajkumar.

“I don't know if many people know this - Kamal sir is a non-interfering person. Even when he was the host and I was the director (Bigg Boss) at some point of time, I would say it was the most comfortable professional relationship. He will be the most comfortable host. He will be the most comfortable actor. He will also be the most comfortable producer. So, the best comfort zone for me in this whole process would be to have Kamal Haasan sir as the producer. He is a boon for this film,” he elucidated.

A slice of life story

Amaran is strong on real action with an emotional quotient as well. “I think the real-life journey of an army officer - the very idea of it and the travel itself is very exciting and also emotional. I think the audience will love that factor. We have remained authentic to Major Mukund’s life story and not embellished anything,” stresses the director who has interacted with Major Mukund’s wife Indhu and his parents. In fact, he revealed that Major Mukund’s sisters ended up calling Sivakarthikeyan Mukund when they spoke to him.

As for what he wants the audience to think about once they leave the theatre post the film, Rajkumar stated, “The effect the film would leave on any person is this I believe - if you cross a soldier, a jawan or an officer or a family member of an armed forces personnel, then we will actually empathize with them. That will be the takeaway, I think.”

So, what did Kamal Haasan say after watching the film? “What he said is very special and close to me and I will reveal it once the movie releases,” said Rajkumar.

Amaran has music by GV Prakash Kumar, cinematography by CH Sai, editing by Kalaivanan, and stunts by Stefan Richter and AnbAriv. Produced by Raaj Kamal Films International, the movie also stars Sai Pallavi, Bhuvan Arora, Rahul Bose, Lallu, Shreekumar, and Shyam Mohan.

When asked whether this movie was life-changing for him, Rajkumar signed off stating, “I think every moment is life-changing – change is constant. Starting with me, I think every person associated with this film will have a career before and after Amaran. It could turn out to be such a film.”

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