Team Thumbaa ensured that they did not harm nature

While the first trailer of the film opened from mixed to positive reviews, movie buffs lauded the second trailer for the VFX quality. “We shot for a little less than a month. It was the post production part, the VFX that took a few months to complete. The CG involved in the film is immense and we kept on improvising time and again,” Harish says and adds that the film is completely for kids. “It is more difficult to engross kids than the mature audience. We ensured that they will be glued to the screen right from the word ‘go’. Moreover, it is the parents who bring them to the theatres and they too shouldn’t be bored. So, there is enough content for them as well. The story revolves around a tiger, named Thumbaa. It’s a name of a village in Kerala, which I thought would go well with the name of a tiger too. There is a subtle message on the extinction of tigers in India as well,” he explains.

Darshan, who made his debut with Kanaa plays a delivery boy in the film. “In the film, I go to the forest for a trek with my friends and how they get caught there and what happens next is what Thumbaa is about. A second film for an actor is as crucial as his first. Once I listened to the script, I had a gut feeling that this would strike a chord with the audience. I am from Coonoor and have been to forests around the Western Ghats ever since my schooldays. So, I was excited to shoot in a forest for over 20 days,” he smiles. Keerthi joins the conversation and says, “I was very particular that the crew didn’t litter around in the forest. We kept it plastics free and anybody who even disturbed a leaf, or a branch got some ‘gyans’ from me. Moreover, Harish kept instructing the crew over the microphone that they will have to keep the forest clean. We went walking deep into the forest and spotted some endangered animals. We clicked pictures of them and cherish those memories. We were playing in the little streams inside the forests.” Darshan nods and says, “Couldn’t agree more. Keerthi though plays a photographer in the film was more of a selfie photographer.” Talking about encountering an imaginary tiger in front of the camera Keerthy says, “We had a workshop for a week before we started the film. My theatre background too came in handy. So Darshan and I imagined animals’ body language and reacted accordingly. That is in fact the USP of the film that will make kids smile.” Apart from Santhosh Dayanidhi and Vivek Mervin, Thumbaa has Anirudh as a ‘guest music composer’. “Ani is my long-time friend and he did not hesitate a bit when I approached him to compose a song for the film,” Harish says.