Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru is a commercial action thriller with realistic treatment, says Karthi

Director Vinoth, who made a sure-footed debut with the highly-entertaining con drama Sathuranga Vettai, is gearing up for the release of his sophomore outing Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru, an action crime thriller starring Karthi and Rakul Preet in the lead roles. Talking about the film in the press meet held in Chennai, Vinoth said, “Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru will be entertaining, engaging and also educative. I wrote the script keeping these three things in mind. I wanted viewers to know the intricacies of a criminal case. I was initially apprehensive about writing a cop story. But, after I met some police officers, it gave me more confidence and my script took a completely different shape. The story happens from the year 1995 to 2005. So, it was quite challenging to scout locations, which are not globalised yet.” [caption id=“attachment_4189499” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Karthi, Rakul Preet in Theeran Adhigaram Ondru[/caption] Tamil actor Karthi, who was last seen in Mani Ratnam’s Kaatru Veliyidai, showered praise on Vinoth’s directorial skills and recalled how he signed the project. “When I signed Siruthai, where I played the role of a police officer for the first time, I interacted with a lot of higher officials to get an idea of how their mind works. A police officer narrated a fascinating crime case in one of my discussions then. When director Vinoth came to me to narrate the story of Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru, he started with the same real-life incident. Since the same story kept coming to me again and again, I told myself that I shouldn’t miss this project. And, I also loved Vinoth’s work in his debut film Sathuranga Vettai and wanted to collaborate with him,” recalled Karthi. Karthi said Vinoth always views his work objectively and was always on his toes at the shooting spot. “As a filmmaker, it’s essential not to be self-indulgent about your work. A distant perspective will elevate the quality of the film. Vinoth has excellent clarity and balance, which is very rare for a creator who is just directing his second project. He made everything easy for me with his exhaustive references and research work on various real-life accounts. In fact, a lot of real police officers, who investigated the case, have acted in the film. Vinoth has presented the film in a contemporary tone and youngsters will relate to the happenings in the story,” said Karthi, adding that shooting the film was an entirely new experience for him. Karthi was all praise for Vinoth’s incredible eye in choosing the right artist for a role: “I don’t play a stylish English-speaking, city-bred police officer in the film. I essay the role of a small-time cop. Each character in the film has been meticulously chosen. A lot of detail has gone into each role. Last time, I witnessed such detailing in director Pa. Ranjith’s Madras. Every character has a lot of shades. We have cast some exciting theatre actors from North India.” Karthi said he has started to see police officers in a completely new way after working in the film, adding that he has learned a lot from them. “Theeran is not a raw film. It’s a full-fledged commercial action thriller, but the treatment will be realistic. The limitations that come with a police officer’s job have been depicted well. I’ve seen some sincere, dedicated cops through the course of the film. The story will also provide a lot of insightful information to the audiences.” On his co-star Rakul Preet, Karthi said he had sent a lot of pictorial references of mid-town Tamil girls to help her prepare for the role. “Rakul took everything positively and delivered an authentic, natural performance. She brought a lot of energy to the sets. We filmed her portions after completing all the action sequences. So, the entire unit was in a happy mood during those portions. Theeran will definitely be a memorable role for her,” said Karthi. Rakul Preet lauded Karthi as an amazing co-star and thanked Vinoth for believing in her potential. “There are few films that from the time you start shooting, there’s some kind of positivity and a lot of passion you witness. I could feel that every single day on the sets of Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru. I’m thankful to director Vinoth for believing in me and giving me a character, which is so different from what I’m. My role is a domestic Tamizh ponnu. I really enjoyed shooting for this film. Vinoth has shot every single scene with a lot of realistic moments. During shooting, Karthi would remember half of my Tamil dialogues. Whenever I forget a line, he would tell me. He was very helpful,” said Rakul Preet, who has also reportedly signed Suriya’s next untitled project with director Selvaraghavan. Produced by SR Prabhu under the banner Dream Warrior Pictures, Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru is slated to hit screens worldwide on November 17th. Ghibran has composed the music for the film, which will also be released in Telugu as Khakee.