Madharaasi, Karuppu, Marshal required extensive research: Arun Venjaramoodu

CHENNAI: Arun Venjaramoodu is literally a ‘captain of the ship’ at the moment, as he was gearing up for the shoot of Karthi’s Marshal that went on floors in Rameswaram a few days ago. He is constantly on his toes as he couldn’t keep a track or acknowledge the critical acclaim he has been receiving for his work in Sivakarthikeyan’s Madharaasi. “Even as Murugadoss sir was narrating the script of Madharaasi to me, I started visualising what exactly is the mind of NIA officers and how an NIA office setup is. It is an important quality to have as an art director because we see the frames first in our memory before the cinematographer or the director does. The NIA setup in Madharaasi is shown in two different colour patterns—one in English colour patterns and another with a darker tone as they operate in secrecy. As an art director it is important that we stay on the same page as the director’s,” he begins.

According to Arun, it is beyond visualising a story or doing research for the sets based on the storyline. “I strongly believe in delivering quality output in enhancing the viewing experience for the audience,” he says. However, with the current situation in the Indian cinema industry where investors and producers are becoming wary of funding for films on a bigger scale, the art director adds, “I agree. Budget constraints are a major roadblock when it comes to production design. Most of the time, I have shelled out money from my pocket so that the final out (output) looks good and it gives me ultimate satisfaction. To see the audience happy is my happiness and that happens only when the frame looks the way I imagined. Though we are under pressure to do it under a certain budget, providing a film with good making is like delivering a baby.”

The first few glimpses of Suriya’s Karuppu have garnered a huge shoutout for its production quality. The story predominantly takes place inside a court premise and also has a fantasy attached to it. “There was a lot of discussion that took place with Karuppu’s team. In Tamil Nadu, it is common to have a Vinayagar temple in a court premise, where people pray that a verdict is delivered in their favour. We kept a lot of things in mind so that nothing goes out of frame in editing. Though it was challenging, working in Karuppu was fun,” reminisces Arun.

Karthi’s Marshal is another big project that he is a part of. The period drama is based on a ship and a story with the backdrop of south Tamil Nadu. “I come from Kerala and Marshal deals vastly with the landscape of Tamil Nadu. My team and I set out on a recce in the locales of Rameswaram and studied extensively about the culture and the people based in that terrain. The scale of the project is pretty huge. And so is our file based on our studies for the film. When it comes to art direction, no two days are the same. It is always a new day with new ideas. Every movie and the terrains are different. Marshal has a lot of work to be done,” he opens up.

Be it creating a folklore for Suzhal, or creating a house on a hill in Vadhandhi, these projects made the Tamil audience standup and notice Arun’s works. “Suzhal again was a huge challenge but Pushkar-Gayatri gave me the liberty to work on how I want it. The onus on Suzhal’s first season was to lure audience into the world but in the second season, I had to sustain them. The entire team loved the challenge. Even in Vadhandhi, Laila’s portions required an Anglo-Indian setting to it. The Broadland lodge in Triplicane has been shown in different films. I had to give it a different outlook as if it were a house in Kanyakumari district. If it has convinced you, I am happy,” he smiles.

Though Arun’s work poses him different and new challenges everyday, he laughs when we speak about his work in Valatty. “The films we spoke about deal with humans and the frames range from six to eight feet. In Valatty, a story that deals with dogs, the frames are between two to five feet. Meanwhile, I also had to keep the audience intrigued in that world. I am glad, you mentioned that as well,” he concluded as he was set to leave for Rameswaram for Marshal’s shoot.