Dragon will unleash the performer in Pradeep: Ashwath Marimuthu

CHENNAI: We meet Ashwath Marimuthu on a sunny afternoon at his office and the release work of Dragon is taking place in full swing. This is the second directorial in Tamil after Oh My Kadavule and there has been a lot of positivity around Dragon ever since its announcement. "Be it Oh My Kadavule or Dragon, I have always firmly believed that a movie will reach the audience it deserves when it is made with 100 per cent conviction. Also, we have been optimistic about the film, which others might perceive as over confidence. These are the one percent of people who are looking to paint some negativity around the project," he begins.

Like how two friends or a group of friends plan their dream trip for several years, Ashwath and Pradeep have been manifesting this for quite some time now. "I wanted to make a film that will have Pradeep in the lead role. He liked acting since short film days and so did I. After a point, my passion inclined towards direction and he stuck to acting. He made it public by appearing in a cameo in his film Comali. However, people judge others with their appearances. He might look gaunt from the outside but you will see the performer in him when Dragon releases," adds the filmmaker.

Ashwath assures that Dragon will be a laugh riot. "It is a realistic drama about a happy-go-lucky-guy. The story revolves around his success and failures. It also discusses that there is no shortcut to success. We all had that one senior in college, and he would have been the talking point of the entire campus. That is the story of Dragon. And in the film George Mariyan, plays Pradeep's father. We have also discussed how not to play tricks on innocent fathers in a lighter vein. We have shot Dragon across various locations and AGS Entertainment have been supportive because they know what the script requires," he opens up.

The production also announced Ashwath's next with Silambarasan TR. The announcement came much before the release of Dragon. "Why would people have to see it in such a way that STR's film was announced because Dragon hasn't come out the way we wanted it to be? The positive side of it is that AGS has faith in me after watching Dragon, they decided to make another film with me that has STR in a lead role. My film with STR will go on floors in June-July," he remarks.