OTT platform boon for content-driven films, says Jo

Jyotika’s Ponmagal Vandhaal has been in the news for quite some time now and is one of the biggest Tamil films that will release directly on an OTT platform. “We don’t have a choice as of now as theatres will not open anytime soon. There are several other star-studded films that are in queue to release. Hence, we believed that taking the film directly to the audience would work. Also, OTT platform is the place for content-oriented films. A femalecentric film releasing across 200 countries is certainly huge,” she says. Directed by debutant director JJ Fredrick and produced by her husband Suriya, under his banner 2D Entertainment, the film will have Jyotika playing a lawyer for the first time. “Like my previous films, the film will have a social message and we have spoken about an important issue. While shooting for Ponmagal Vandhaal, I realised that playing a lawyer was stronger than the role of a cop’s. Being a courtroom drama, there are hard-hitting dialogues. Frederick has penned them well and the message in the film is close to my heart,” reveals the actress. The film will also see Jyotika share screen space with legendary Tamil directors in the 80s like Bhagyaraj, Pandiyarajan, Parthiban, Thiagarajan, and Prathap Pothen. “To act with them has been a huge learning curve. They came up with unique improvisations and I had to be on a par. One thing that Frederick didn’t keep in mind is that I am a half North Indian and gave me 35-page dialogues every day. I have also dubbed for my role of Venbaa and the team had the patience to work with me to get the pronunciations right,” she says with a smile. 

By choosing to do movies like 36 Vayadhinile, Ratchasi, and Ponmagal Vandhaal, Jyotika says, “I don’t think I have gone into a shell by doing content-oriented films. In fact, I have come out of it, and doing such films has helped me to explore across genres.” There have been reports that she will reprise the role of Ganga in Chandramukhi 2. She refutes the reports and says, “I haven’t been approached to play the role yet.” When asked if there is one actress apart from her, who she would want to see playing the award-winning role, she replies, “I would definitely like to see Simran in the role.” 

Talking about lockdown, she says. “I have started making coffee and tea in the last few weeks. This crisis has taught us how to be grateful to cops, public health workers, and even our housemaids, who work for us roundthe- clock,” she concludes.