Interview with Dharani Dharan; the director of Burma
With an unusual title as “Burma”, first-time director Dharani Dharan caught my attention long before they started promoting the film. A very close friend, who is playing an important role in the film, had informed me about it. Intrigued by the unusualness of the title, when I spoke to Dharani, the first question I asked him was about the film’s title.
The title
“The title is based on the name of a real-life carjacker called Burma in north Madras,” he said, and quickly clarified that the film’s story is original.
“Burma” is a film about carjacking, the unlawful seizure of an automobile. Dharani’s inspiration for the story came from a candid chat he had with a few carjackers. “I wanted to do a crime film. I was contemplating on a few ideas in the genre when I had the opportunity to talk to a few people who do carjacking for a living,” Dharani recalled.
“I used to play cricket with them and once after playing, they sat down to share an interesting incident. I took some liberty and cinematically turned that incident into a script for my film,” he said.
Researching for the film
As part of his research to develop the script and make it realistic, Dharani also met “a lot of people in Pudhupet to understand more about the subject. He met a lot of car financiers who deal with carjackers on a daily basis. “The idea was to hear a few stories from them. But none of the guys were keen on sharing. I eventually befriended a few and interviewed them. Those stories helped me greatly in preparation of my script”.
“Burma” is a multi-starrer and doesn’t feature a hero per se; Dharani said when I asked why his film doesn’t feature a popular face in the lead. But he tells me he wanted to cast a popular hero but none showed interest in his script.
Top heroes and their addiction with ‘popular production houses’
“I met a lot of top heroes with my script, but nobody was ready to listen to me. They felt my story was very offbeat. They showed the least interest because the project is not funded by a popular production house,” he said.
He had apparently met about ten heroes and waited for nearly six months to hear from one of them. “Since we were getting delayed with the project, my producer and I decided to take the risk with a newcomer”. Budget was another reason why he couldn’t rope in a popular actor
Dharani still managed to cast popular character artists such as Atul Kulkarni and Sampath Raj in important roles. “Atul and Sampath really liked the script. They agreed to work for lesser remuneration than what they usually charge. I don’t know how much they charge, but I’m aware they’re very popular, so one can imagine how much they must be getting paid,” he said.
North Madras
Like several crime films in Tamil, Dharani’s movie too is shot against the backdrop of north Madras. The crew shot in some real locations where acquiring permission was “difficult”. “Most of the story takes place in real places in north Madras. To shoot in these locations was extremely challenging. We shot in highly crowded places like Royapuram, Pudhupet and Ennore”.
Burma is not Soodhu Kavvum
Dharani says his film should not be compared to any recent Tamil dark comedy, especially after watching the trailer. “It’s a crime film with subtle black comedy. You wouldn’t find full-length comedy ala ‘Soodhu Kavvum’. We’ve attempted a non-linear narrative. But the screenplay will be easy to understand. We’ve done away with unwanted commercial clichés,” he said.
The lavish BMW X6 SUV
A film about carjacking is bound to feature a lot of cars, and Dharani admits of using a lot of vehicles ranging from “Qualis, Innova and Swift to a small scene featuring a Mini Cooper as well”.
But the highlight of “Burma” will be a BMW X6 SUV worth Rs. 1.5 crore.
“Since we needed an expensive luxury vehicle, we approached Audi and BMW”, he said, and added: “BMW was really impressed with my script and offered us one of their luxury model cars for shooting free of cost. I had also explained in detail places where I’ll promote their brand in the film”. An agreement was eventually signed between the makers and the car brand.
Dharani said it was challenging to handle the exorbitantly priced vehicle carefully. “My film doesn’t feature extreme chase sequences, but we still had use the BMW vehicle a lot on the roads. To shoot with it on real roads was another challenge. We had to be extremely careful while using it because it was offered for free,” he said.
For multiplex audiences
“Burma”, which releases Friday in cinemas, is “strictly for multiplexes audiences”. It features Michael Thangadurai, Reshmi Menon in lead roles. “Since the story is totally offbeat, it’s more suitable for multiplex audiences, but the film will release in B and C centres as well,” he said.
Doesn’t he think this move will affect the box-office prospects of the film? “We’ve already made a table profit through various rights. My producer has broken even. The opening weekend numbers are very important for us. We are pinning hopes on the first three days”.
Akin to the unusual title, the film also features characters with quirky names. Some of the character names are Angry Bird, Noodles and Boomer. “Had we named the characters Kabali, Anthony and Peter, then it would become very obvious. We’ve heard such names in so many Tamil films and that’s why I avoided using them”.
“Another reason being since the film is set in north Madras; I didn’t want audiences to see ‘Burma’ as another gangster film. There should be something different to make my film stand out. These small things make a lot of difference,” he said.
As a newcomer Dharani feels the wait to release a completed film is the most challenging phase. “Making a film has become easier, but the time taken to release it has become a hassle for all of us. So many factors are being taken into consideration before the release of a film”, he said.
Burma is all set for release this Friday and will clash with Vanavarayan Vallavarayan and the studio-backed Sigaram Thodu in the box-office.