Location Diaries: Vidharth for Devil - Learning on the go

This weekly column details the fascinating encounters that often take place on the sets of a film and this week, it is from Devil
Location Diaries: Vidharth for Devil - Learning on the go

Filming for filmmaker GR Adhithya's Devil, turned out to be a unique experience for actor Vidharth. "I was blown away by the script when I first read it, but when we began the shooting, I was impressed with Adhithya's ability to visualise and execute scenes. His way of breaking down a scene painted a different picture of the script altogether. He was always focussed on his work and would discuss only cinema even during breaks. When I saw him enact scenes to my co-actors, I noticed that he is a great performer as well," says Vidharth.

Speaking about the filmmaker's meticulous planning, Vidharth adds, "One day, we had to shoot in an expensive suite in a star hotel, costing several lakhs a day. But till noon, the director did not take a single shot, leaving me puzzled about his plans." To Vidharth's utter surprise, he discovered that the filmmaker was having a detailed discussion regarding the complications involved in the shot with the cameraman in a different room.  "At 12 noon, we began shooting and completed the shoot within 20 minutes! We initially thought that our scene would take an entire day to film. His attention to detail helped us wrap up the shot quickly without even rehearsing."

Shooting with Adhithya's brother, Mysskin, who has acted in the film, was a new learning experience, Vidharth feels. "Between shots, I noticed that Mysskin sir was nowhere to be found. I found him sitting quietly by himself on the ground, at the same spot we had canned the shot. All through the day, he sat there and even had his lunch there from a tiffin box. He completely transformed into his character and did not break it."

While shooting near Mahabalipuram for a few days, the actors had to leave at 4 am in Chennai to reach the location by 6. "We hardly had any sleep as we would return home only by 8 pm." Vidharth and Poorna shot for a crucial emotional scene there. "We shot those scenes for 4 days. Despite it being a heavy emotional sequence for Poorna, she had to cut the emotions mid-way every day and resume the performance with the exact intensity the following morning. Even slight deviation would be captured on screen. Poorna, however, pulled it off, immediately catching the pitch of the performance exactly where she had paused the previous day. My admiration for her only increased during the process," Vidharth signs off.

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