Aaranya Kaandam

About the film

Aaranya Kaandam (transl. Jungle Chapter; English title: Anima and Persona) is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language crime comedy film written and directed by Thiagarajan Kumararaja in his directorial debut. It is supposedly the first neo-noir film in Tamil cinema. The plot takes place in a day in the lives of the six protagonists, played by Jackie Shroff, Ravi Krishna, Sampath Raj and debutants Yasmin Ponnappa, Guru Somasundaram and Master Vasanth. Produced by S. P. B. Charan's Capital Film Works, the musical score was composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, cinematography by P. S. Vinod and editing handled by the duo Praveen K. L.-N. B. Srikanth.

The film was launched on 18 December 2008, with its principal photography being completed by late 2009, which was followed by a lengthy post-production phase. It ran into difficulties as the regional censor board in Chennai raised objection against the film, giving it an adult rating besides demanding 52 cuts. After screening and becoming approved by the Tribunal in Delhi, the film was released worldwide on 10 June 2011, where it received critical acclaim from critics, but underperformed at box-office. Despite its failure, it gained recognition over the years, and is now regarded as a cult film in Tamil and Indian cinema.

Plot

Singaperumal is an aged gangster, who forces himself on a girl named Subbu, but is unable to perform and vents his frustration by slapping her. Later, his right-hand man Pasupathy tells him that a large stash of cocaine worth ₹20,000,000 (US$210,000), has entered the city. The man bringing the stash wants to sell it for ₹5,000,000 (US$52,000). Pasupathy sees the profit, the long-term benefit (to control the cocaine market with such an ample supply), and the recognition if they are able to pull off such a deal. The drawback is that the stash belongs to their arch-rival Gajendran.

Singaperumal knows that Gajendran is a vicious and unpredictable adversary and that the venture is risky, so he decides to pass. Pasupathy suggests that Singaperumal is getting old and asks him to loan him ₹5,000,000 (US$52,000) so he can do the job himself. Pasupathy is prepared to face the risks, and in return for the loan, he offers Singaperumal a cut of the profits. Singaperumal agrees to the loan but instead asks Pasupathy to first get the stash and then think of the profit distribution.

Kaalayan is a destitute farmer, living with his young, street-smart son Kodukapuli in the slums and earns a meagre living staging cockfights; coincidentally, Singaperumal loves to watch these cockfights. One evening, a man arrives in a bunk with Kaalayan for the night. The man is actually the cocaine courier, who routinely transports various stashes of drugs in and out of the city and collects a relatively small fee ₹10,000 (US$100) for each trip. That evening, after a long bout of drinking, he reveals that he has learnt the actual value of the stash and now intends to sell it himself. Seeing Subbu in tears, Singaperumal asks one of his men Sappai to take her out and comfort her, 'so she is prepared to perform for him at night'.

Production

In August 2007, following the success of his film Chennai 600028 (2007), speculation over S. P. B. Charan's next production venture arose. While initial reports suggested that he would produce Achchamundu! Achchamundu!, starring Sneha and Prasanna, Charan opted to produce a film titled Aaranya Kaandam, to be directed by a newcomer Thiagarajan Kumararaja and starring newcomers. However, despite announcing the project, it was called off later that year and Charan started producing the film Kunguma Poovum Konjum Puravum in May 2008.

In late 2008, while Kunguma Poovum Konjum Puravum was in post-production stage, reports surfaced that Charan and Kumararaja were going to revive the project, with noted Bollywood actor Jackie Shroff being roped in for a leading role, making his debut in Tamil cinema. Director Thiagarajan Kumararaja was revealed to be a former Loyola College student, and popular advertisement film-maker, who has also directed several short films, including the short film Becky, which was awarded the first prize at the one-minute film competition 60 Seconds to Fame. Kumararaja had previously written the dialogues for the 2007 comedy film Oram Po as well. He got the opportunity to work with Charan, when Pushkar-Gayathri, the director duo of Oram Po, had suggested him to approach Charan, who listened to the storyline and immediately agreed to produce the film, "in a matter of time" as Kumararaja cites. The film was formally launched on 18 December 2008 at the Kodandapani Studios in Chennai.

The script was written by Thiagarajan Kumararaja himself, which he had finished in 2006. He cites that he wanted to make a "racy film" and wrote the climax part first, which would be the "raciest part of a film". He then wrote "multiple storylines with three climaxes" as he felt that one climax was "not enough for a feature film", which eventually turned out to be a "leisurely paced film, taking its own time to unfold" and not a racy film as intended. He cited that, while writing the script, he was sure that it was meant for a matured audience and not for children, "primarily because of the content".Thiagarajan Kumararaja went on to add that there were "no hero and no villain introduction scenes, there are no love scenes, no sentimental scenes" but nonetheless considered his film a masala film and not an experimental film.

Key details