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Photo: M. Moorthy

Reel fascination Priya

Dressed in blue jeans and crisp cotton kurta, Priya breaks into bright smiles at anything remotely humorous. It was only natural for her to wield the megaphone for a breezy love story “Kanda Naal Mudhal.”

“I’m not ready for a heavy story line. I love the industry and want to have fun with my movies,” she says, flashing the sunny smile again.

Her entry was a high-profile one. The initial brush with the industry was enough to kindle her interest. Priya says that she knew little about directing when she made her debut as assistant director in “Indra” for Suhasini Manirathnam.

But she worked hard to learn the ropes quickly. She took a programme in directing at the Adayar Film Institute.

“I put in a lot of effort to make my debut flawless. Studying about directing helped me a lot,” she says.

When she completed her course, Suhasini lent a helping hand again by putting her on to Manirathnam to work in a couple of movies — “Iruvar” and “Dil Se.”

“I entered the sets of “Iruvar” and turned edgy seeing the magnanimity of the film and the casts. But Mani sir guided me all through. I was more at ease while working in “Dil Se”,” she says.

Even as she was working as assistant to the ace director, she directed a Danish documentary “Women on Wheels” and a couple of serials including “Pen” and “Anbulla Snehethiye” under the Madras Talkies banner.

Her fascination for story telling fetched her screenplay writing opportunity for the Indian-English movie “Mitr, my friend,” directed by actor Revathi Menon.

Having straddled soaps and movies, Priya says writing dialogues for films and soaps isn’t any different. “While each of the 20-minute segments in soaps would have one interesting sequence to hook the audience till the next episode, films need to have gripping screenplay to keep the viewers glued for three hours.”

After the success of “Azhagiya Theeye,” Prakash Raj’s Duet Movies’ production was on the look out for fresh storyline. That’s when Priya’s “Kanda Naal Mudhal” got on.

Priya eulogises Prakash Raj. “He gave me complete freedom in selecting the technicians. A fresher cannot ask for.”

Priya’s eye for minute details was amazing. Strong emotions were portrayed with substantiate levity in the film — the hero (Prasanna) and heroine (Laila) at loggerheads since childhood eventually fall in love.

Remember the opening scene where the hero and the heroine as kids begin their scuffle at a wedding? Well, Priya crafted it from her own experience. “It so happened that when I was five, a boy and I were made to sit on an oonjal at a wedding. Our relatives, in a lighter vein, remarked that he would be engaged to me. I was furious and hated that boy. Even after years, we would still feel the hatred for no reason,” she laughs. The emotion was beautifully captured .

Talk about her to-be-released ‘Kannamoochi Yenada,’ Priya’s excitement gets doubled. “It’s pure fun. The actors, sets and locations are grander than my last movie. Radhika is a very supportive producer.” Starring Prithviraj, Sathyaraj, Radhika and Sandhya, the movie deals with subtle emotional conflicts between them. “The story has all the flavours and unlimited hilarity,” she assures.

Similar to her previous movie, this one doesn’t involve a separate comedy track. “I don’t believe in separate track. Every character must contribute to the storyline. There are two characters in this movie which appear only in one scene but are referred to till the climax. I make sure no character is left dangling.”

If cinematographer P. C. Sriram immaculately picturised the breezy sets of Thota Tharani in “Kanda Naal Mudhal,” it’s now the chance of his assistant Preetha to capture picturesque Ooty in “Kannamoochi Yenada.” This is Preetha’s first assignment.

“She has captured Udhagamandalam so well that you will actually feel the cold when you watch it” says Priya. Her next project? “I’ve four to five scripts ready. I haven’t chosen any producer. Rather, they have not chosen me yet,” she breaks into a disarming chuckle again.

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