Masaan actress Shweta Tripathi plays circus performer in her Tamil debut Mehandi Circus; film likely to release in September

Actress Shweta Tripathi, best known for terrific performances in acclaimed Hindi films such as _Masaan_ and _Haraamkhor_ , has forayed into Tamil cinema through national award-winning writer Raju Murugan’s romance drama Mehandi Circus. Directed by debutant Saravana Rajendhiran, an erstwhile associate of Raju Murugan and produced by KE Gnanavel Raja’s Studio Green, the shooting of Mehandi Circus has been already wrapped up and the film is currently in the post-production phase. To learn more about the project, where Shweta Tripathi plays the titular role of Mehandi, Firstpost got in touch with director Saravana Rajendhiran for an exclusive chat. [caption id=“attachment_4278569” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Shweta Tripathi in Haraamkhor. File image[/caption] “Mehandi Circus is a love story set in the 90s. The story unfolds when a travelling circus troupe visits Kodaikanal and a relationship buds between a girl from the troupe and a youngster in Kodaikanal,” director Saravana Rajendhiran told Firstpost. About choosing Shweta Tripathi for the titular role, Saravana Rajendhiran told, “I have already watched Shweta Tripathi’s Haraamkhor and Masaan. Post scripting, when we were discussing to decide the cast, it was her name that popped first in my mind. I needed a face from North India; the character has to be short too since circus performers are not too tall in most cases. So we immediately decided to get in touch with her. When we contacted her she was keen on her character and story but nothing else. So I sent her the synopsis of Mehandi Circus, and she got back and asked me for a full screenplay narration. We narrated her the story in a coffee shop in Mumbai, she expressed her liking for the script and gave her nod. She didn’t have any apprehensions about not knowing the language too.” Saravana Rajendhiran says it was a little difficult to communicate to Shweta during the first two days of shoot. “Shweta is a theatre artist and an assistant director too. She has delivered a beautiful performance. But the language and understanding of our culture were quite tricky. She had a workshop on the language and circus stunts for fifteen days. I had translated the entire script and sent her. So when we started shooting, only the first few days were difficult. Since she grasped things easily and quickly, it was pretty much comfortable for both of us. In fact, she slipped into the role very effortlessly once she understood the character.” Spilling some beans about Shweta’s character in the film, Saravana said, “She essays the role of a circus performer, and her father runs the circus in the movie. We brought in a real circus troupe from Gujarat named Kamala Circus; it has people from various states and of which a performer from Theni was also present. He helped in training Shweta with a risky stunt which is only performed by him after his father. They made the tents on their own.” [caption id=“attachment_4644111” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Mehandi Circus poster. Facebook[/caption] Paired opposite Shweta is newcomer Rangaraj, who hails from Coimbatore and is a chef by profession. About the origin of Mehandi Circus, Saravana said, “I had worked with Balu Mahendra and Kamal sir in the past. I co-directed Joker along with Raju Murugan. During a discussion, he told me a story, and I too had one in mind. So we clubbed it together and wrote Mehandi Circus.” While Raju Murugan has written the film’s dialogues, the credits for screenplay and direction belong to Saravana Rajendhiran. Sean Roldan has composed the music for the project. “Sean Roldan’s music has come out well. We have made some peppy tracks and some romantic numbers too. We have wrapped up the complete shooting, and the post-production works are going in full swing. We are planning for a tentative September release, and Studio Green is working on a suitable release date,” said Saravana on a concluding note. Studio Green’s ongoing projects include Sivakarthikeyan — Nayanthara’s untitled comedy entertainer directed by Rajesh, Vijay Deverakonda-Mehreen Pirzada’s Tamil, Telugu bi-lingual NOTA, director Deekay’s horror comedy Katteri, and Arya, Sayyeshaa’s Ghajinikanth, which is gearing up to hit screens this month.