Ananth Nag, my chemistry shows onscreen

If there is one person in Sandalwood who has successfully mastered the art of time management, it has got to be actor-director-TV host Ramesh Aravind. There's just never an idle moment for him. If he isn't directing, acting or hosting a show ' all three of which he is currently juggling ' he spends his time writing. When we caught up with Ramesh for a quick t'te-'-t'te about his upcoming film

Re

, he was heading to an early morning shoot for his directorial, just hours after a hectic day on the set of his TV show.

Re is a subject that director Sunil Kumar Desai revisited two years after it was first launched. The film, he maintains, would not have materialized if his lead cast, Ramesh and Ananth Nag, were not available. Both actors, though, found time for Sunil's project despite their busy schedules, based solely on the rapport they share with him. In fact, when Re was being shot, Ramesh was busy with his Kamal Haasan-starrer Uttama Villain. Excerpts from a conversation with the actor-director about working with Sunil, Re and more...

Working with Sunil Kumar Desai My first film with Sunil was Nammoora Mandara Hoove, which is a classic. From day one, we got along very well, especially on a creative level. There is a certain comfort level when working with him. The thing about Sunil is that once he realizes that your commitment level is high, it is very easy to work with him. But if he doesn't get that from you, he can be a horror on set. He is extremely passionate about filmmaking. He is clear and insistent about what he wants, in terms of dialogues, clothes, and what the film should be like, which is very nice. It is good to work with a director who knows what he wants. There might be confusion about how to go about to achieve what he has on his mind, but the final image is very clear and he keeps on changing things around to attain perfection. There is a 20-second shot in the film, which he had been struggling with for two years. He had an idea, but was unsure about how to get this across to audiences effectively. We kept exchanging ideas and he rejected everything. Finally, he figured out how to capture his idea onscreen, but only after we had finished the film, including dubbing. He called me and said that he needed me for a day to shoot that bit. I was juggling time between Weekend with Ramesh, Pushpaka Vimana and Gandu Endare Gandu, but I could not say no, because I like that man so much. When we were done, I realized that he was right about his final treatment for that 20-second shot.

Re... The concept on which the story is built is that every waking minute depends on an 'if'. The axis on which the whole world rotates is an if ' many of the things happening in our lives are based on that if, whether it happens or not. The crux of our story is also based on this 'what if I get this girl, what if she gets that boy, what if I get my dream partner, and so on and so forth. The dream girl or boy will also have an if in his/her mind about who he/she wants to be with. In effect, this becomes a love triangle because all the dreams are different. I have a dream girl in mind, and she has a dream guy in mind, who is not me. In Re, there is a love quadrangle (laughs). It may seem very philosophical, but the film is an entertainer, high on energy and told in a humorous fashion. It is a happy film with a lot of pleasant events in it.

Film with old-world charm At first glance, Re may seem like a film from the 70s or 80s, which is intentional. We have placed a new thought and concept against an old-world backdrop, which, I think, will work. Cinema is an audio-visual medium and in this film, both have been used very cleverly, especially the audio. There are sequences that are almost interactive for the audience, wherein they have to imagine the visual for an ongoing audio. The film requires audiences to be involved in it; you can't just sit around and be dull. I like that bit, as well as the fact that there are pretty ladies ' Harshika Poonacha, Suman and a mystery character. There's also the chemistry that I share with Ananth. We gel very well off screen as well and that shows onscreen.