‘The audience shuns mediocre films, expects out-of-the-box content’

 We met the actor on the sets of the film a few months ago and has bulked up a few kilos now. “I lost a lot of weight and didn’t work on my shoulder muscles while shooting for Comali (Jester) as I play a school boy in the film. To keep the suspense element intact, we released 9 looks. It is not only because we wanted to get the audience’s attention, the film truly cannot be restricted to any particular genre,” says the actor. His last seven films were consecutive successes at the box-office. His previous release Adanga Maru went on to become a box office success despite locking horns with Maari 2, Kanaa and Seethakathi. “That never meant that I can take Comali lightly. My responsibility only increased after Adanga Maru’s success and I was under pressure to perform and deliver another hit. After Adanga Maru, I wanted to move away from action and thriller genre. Comali has comedy, love, emotions and action. A comic scene in the film will have an unexpected emotional twist that will make your heart feel heavy. That is the beauty of the film. I am happy that I have done another film with a unique treatment and that is the need of the hour. The audience is immune to mediocre films. They want us to give them something out of the box to make them sit through,” he adds.

While Ravi keeps tight-lipped about what the looks are all about, he divulges about the storyline. “Not a lot of people remember what happened to them or around them 15 years ago. For instance, a minor incident that happened 20 years ago could have been the start of global warming that we face today. Comali remembers such things and tells us a message in a lighter vein,” he opens up. Ravi keeps a straight face when we ask him if the story travels back and forth in time. “Maybe yes, maybe not, but there are no complications involved in director Pradeep Ranganathan’s narration and will be an entertaining watch,” he clarifies. His Adanga Maru was directed by debutant Karthik Thangavelu and Comali is directed by yet another debutant Pradeep. Ravi, who is 24 films old, says that he is not sceptical about giving chances to debutants. “Technology has improved so much that people can make brilliant films using mobile phones. I am someone who learnt films to enter this field. I was amazed when Pradeep showed me his short films he had shot on phone. I say it like I have done in my other interviews that it is not about who the filmmaker is. The content matters,” he says with some authority.

Talking about his upcoming projects, he says, “My 25th film will be directed by Lakshman, which is not Bogan 2. Then I will be taking off to Azerbaijan for my film with Ahmed. It is a wonderful script and he has worked on for two years. Post Ahmed’s film I will begin Ponniyin Selvan in December,” he concludes.