Kajal Aggarwal in tamil remake of Queen
Kannada and Tamil remakes to be directed by actor-director; he says it will be a movie around metamorphosis
Ramesh Aravind will be directing the Kannada and Tamil remakes of Queen, according to the production house that is coming out with its remakes in all south Indian languages. Mediente made the official announcement at the launch of the film in Kannada on Monday. This movie promises to be yet another interesting challenge for the actor-director, to helm a heroine-centric project that was critically acclaimed.
We caught up with Ramesh Aravind, who told City Express that he was looking forward to making Queen in Kannada and Tamil. “When the production offered me the project, I wanted to direct it in two languages,” he says. “Since I was told that Revathi would be directing the Tamil and Malayalam versions, I didn’t ask for the Tamil project... though I am more comfortable with that language than I am with Telugu. I can read and write it, and have done around 50 films in Kollywood. Then a lot of changes happened at the production front and everything was planned afresh, along with the Kannada version, I pitched for the Tamil remake.”
In Kannada, Parul Yadav will reprise Kangana Ranaut’s role and, in the Tamil version, Kajal Aggarwal will play that role. The lead actresses have been finalised and only the payment terms have to be settled, and an official announcement can be expected anytime soon. “Though I can’t officially confirm the Tamil heroine, I was told that Kajal Aggarwal will be on board,” says Ramesh. The other actress in the movies will be Amy Jackson, who will be essaying Lisa Haydon’s role of Vijayalakshmi in all four south indian languages.
Ramesh Aravind says that having Amy Jackson as a common factor in all four languages and a director working in two remakes make logistical sense. “It cuts down four films into two films in term of operations,” he explains and adds. “So the production house was keen to have somebody who is well versed in these languages and I met this criteria.”
Ramesh is looking forward to start working on a few portions in Kannada from today. “I think Queen is a great tale to tell,” he says. “I will definitely keep the spirit of Queen, but as I have said earlier, ‘I remake a story, not a film’. So I will view the movie through my mind.”
The director picked the title Butterfly for the Kannada version and says, “I see Queen as a story of metamorphosis, into a butterfly, and this will guide me in the making. A caterpillar is rejected by the world, nobody wants it and it withdraws into a cocoon, later it flies out as a beautiful butterfly into the world. That is why it is called Butterfly in Kannada and the English title is because it takes place in a foreign land. Otherwise it would have been Chitte or Paataragitti.
He is still considering a title for the Tamil version, and meanwhile he had decided on the locations including Karur, Tirupur and later Paris, London and Amsterdam. The Kannada version, Butterfly, will be shot in Shivammoga, Thirthahalli and Sagar.
As for its casting, Ramesh says that the film has very few characters. Except for the lead, and a few other artistes, the rest of cast seen abroad will be mostly the same. “We are looking for actors who are popular in Tamil and Kannada. We are planning to bring in a newcomer as a hero and will soon hold the auditions for it,” he says.
Ramesh hopes to complete shooting in both the languages by year end. “Since I will be directing in Kannada and Tamil, the project will require 120 days of shooting schedule,” he says.
