‘Nishadham’ was supposed to be a silent film

Actor Madhavan says the film is in same vein as his 2009 film 13B, which was also a psychological thriller

Actor R Madhavan says the initial idea behind his upcoming release Nishabdham was to present it as a silent feature that would have ensured that it caters to audiences without any language barrier. The actor, known for his over two-decade-long work in both Bollywood and South cinema, features opposite Anushka Shetty in the Hemant Madhukar-directed movie.

Madhavan said the idea had to be dropped as the team felt that the thriller elements of the story were being compromised. “This movie was initially supposed to be a silent film. No dialogues. That was how it was conceived initially. So I thought that since it is a silent film, it will appeal to all audiences.

It didn’t have to be defined as a multilingual feature. “But later on, we realised that we were not able to do justice with the story because there were some places where we needed dialogues to make the story clearer. That’s when we decided to make it in Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam,” the 50-year-old actor said in an interview.

Nishabdham follows a speech and hearing impaired artist, named Sakshi (Anushka Shetty), who gets entangled in a criminal investigation when she unexpectedly witnesses a tragic incident that occurs in a villa with a reputation for being haunted. Madhavan plays the role of Sakshi’s husband Anthony, who is a celebrity musician. The movie, which is set to premiere on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, marks the first outing for Hollywood star Michael Madsen in Indian cinema.

Madhavan said that though he had a very few scenes with Madsen, it was a wonderful experience of working with the actor, known for his work in movies such as Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill series and The Hateful Eight. “Lot of actors were considered for that role but in the end Michael Madsen was locked to our amusement.

I wish that I was involved in all aspects of Nishabadam but as I was involved in ‘Rocketry’, I joined the cast just two weeks before the shooting. “So he was already there and it was a very exciting time. My shoots with him were limited but it was really exciting to work with somebody like Michael Madsen.” Madhavan said that Nishabdham is in same vein as his 2009 feature 13B, which was also a psychological thriller.