"Sigaram Thodu will be an Eye Opener," says Gaurav

"Sigaram Thodu will be an Eye Opener," says Gaurav

It has been two years since director Gaurav debuted in Kollywood with ‘Thoonganagaram’, and his ‘Sigaram Thodu’ is still in the making. What takes the film this long to shoot and be done with! Director Gaurav explains

what is taking the film so long to come out and why it is so, as he opens up on the film, throws light on the story, and also shares some unforgettable moments from the sets of ‘Sigaram Thodu’.

The film is a cop story alright, but why such a long drawn project? Gaurav says this is primarily because of the time it took him to research on the subject and fine tune his story.

“The film is based on one of the highest means of money swindle that remains a mystery to most – credit and debit card fraud. This siphons off about a 1500 crore rupees every year, but the nuances of the crime still remains an unsolvable mystery even to the police. Further, a major section of the society is blind to the intricacies of the crime, and ‘Sigaram Thodu’ is aimed at putting an end to the ignorance in the society.

I met a man who serves his term in Puzhal jail for the crime of amassing 12 crore rupees in card fraud in ATMs. This required special permission and a lot of time to get him to open up on how he did it. That’s part of the reason why ‘Sigaram Thodu’ took this long to kick off, as it took me time to prepare the final draft, after my research” says Gaurav.

Other than that, there have been time consuming processes in the run up for the movie and also its shooting. Hero of the film, Vikram Prabhu, was working in other projects when he signed ‘Sigaram Thodu’. But as a cop in the film, he had to sport a close crop, which might have affected the continuity in his other films.

And so Gaurav waited till Vikram was absolutely ready for his project. Also, a song in the film took more than a year to shoot! The ‘Pidichiruku’ number by was shot at an exotic location in the Himalayas that opens to the public only two days in a year.

“The location opens in May for just a couple of days. We shot there last year. And for the remaining portion of the song, we waited till this May!” exclaims Gaurav. The highlight of the movie is father-son sentiment, unlike the traditional mother sentiment. Sathyaraj plays Vikram’s dad in the film.

Vikram took up training from the cops themselves at Vandalur Police Academy, for this film. This process, involving permissions and procedures also delayed the movie to their share. Gaurav also shared an incident from the shooting location of ‘Sigaram Thodu’ where Vikram saved his life.

“I owe Vikram for his presence of mind,” says Gaurav, “he has given me a new lease of life. Enroute to a shooting location in the Himalayas, I suddenly fainted. Vikram was travelling ahead of me and we were followed by the rest of the crew behind us in a car.

As soon as I fell down, Vikram picked me up and rushed me to the nearest hospital, without waiting to look for help. That was an amazing moment that saved my life and I will remember this incident forever.

Based on facts and one of the most serious crises in the country, director Gaurav is confident that ‘Sigaram Thodu’ will be an eye opener to the subtler crimes, that which we normally assume to be quite a light issue in comparison to others, while they actually are not.