Kalyani Priyadarshan opens up on shooting sans ‘comfort crew’

Kalyani told IANS: "The most interesting thing about it was that it was shot during the pandemic, during the lockdown when full on shoots were not happening."

New Delhi: South star Kalyani Priyadarshan says she found it liberating to work on her upcoming Tamil film amidst pandemic without her comfort crew.

Recalling her experience of working in “Putham Pudhu Kaalai, an anthology of five short films, Kalyani told IANS: “The most interesting thing about it was that it was shot during the pandemic, during the lockdown when full on shoots were not happening.”

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The unit followed safety measures and ensured not too many people crowded the room, said Kalyani, daughter of renowned filmmaker Priyadarshan.

“As actors, it was an interesting experience. We didn’t have hair and make-up teams or assistants and staff who are part of our comfort crew,” she said.

“A lot of times you are hesitant about stepping into a new film, and not having these people around you. The set is new and people are new. They (comfort crew) just bring the comfort blanket along with them,” she added.

But she had to let go of them due to Covid-19 concerns.

“It was very liberating. You had to take care of yourself. It was interesting to know that all of this was possible, so it was liberating for an actor. But for someone who was part of a crew, I felt it was such a crazy experience because it felt like we were in college making a short film,” said Kalyani.

In fact, shooting for the film over three days were best ones for the actress during lockdown.

“For an actor who has been working like crazy during normal period, this (lockdown) was one of the toughest things I had to go through. In fact, the three days that I shot for this film, were probably my best three days. Otherwise, I was incredibly bored. I am not used to that. I am either travelling or shooting,” she said.

Kalyani added that she enjoyed spending time with family during lockdown though missed “shoot pretty much every single day”.

“Putham Pudhu Kaalai” will premiere on Amazon Prime Video on October 16.

“OTT platforms give accessibility to a lot of people. That gives you more opportunity to show your work to more people and makes you excited about that. Right now, I don’t know who will go to a theatre to watch a film. I would, but that’s only because I am crazy about cinema. A Friday without going to a theatre didn’t exist before. But to most people, I am sure this is a much more accessible platform for films, especially for regional content,” said Kalyani.