CV Kumar is known for identifying budding talents and producing films under his home banner.
Producer CV Kumar is known for identifying budding talents and producing films under his home banner Thirukumaran Entertainment. Pizza, Thegidi, Attakatthi and Soodhu Kavvum are some of his blockbusters. Now, Kumar takes the avatar of a director with a murder mystery titled Maayavan, and has roped in an ensemble cast of Sundeep Kishan, Lavanya Tripathi, Jackie Shroff, Daniel Balaji, among others. Nalan Kumarasamy has penned the screenplay for the movie.
Says Kumar, “I never wanted to become a filmmaker. I used to discuss a lot of scripts with my fellow directors. Everybody liked the story of Maayavan . They persuaded me to try my hand at direction. Somehow, today I have completed the shooting. Although it was a great experience, I feel quite nervous.” On choosing Sundeep as the lead, he states, “I wanted an actor without any image for the investigative cop role and he fitted the bill perfectly,” quickly adding, “Maayavan is about serial murder, and Sundeep has performed extremely well.”
Talking about bringing back Lavanya Tripathi to Tamil, he says, “Yeah, Nalan had a particular characterisation sketch for the heroine. And among the younger crop of actresses, Lavanya was apt.” So, we ask him the role of Jackie Shroff and he was quick to reply — “He plays an army commando.” Kumar reveals that there were no songs when he wrote the script. “Later, my team felt the need for at least two songs and that is when we brought Ghibran on board. The songs will go with the flow of events in the story. Ghibran has given an extraordinary BGM.”
When asked if he would be comfortable with directing films, he reveals, “I would choose production over direction. Production involves a lot of challenges. A director’s job, though very tough, ends with finishing the first copy. But, it is a producer who has to package it well and take it to the audience.” Depending on the response of Maayavan, Kumar will plan to continue as a director — “I have two scripts ready — one being a kids’ movie and an entertaining fun story.”
