Location Diaries: For the love of art

Actor and television presenter Dhivya Dharshini will be making her web series debut with Disney+Hotstar's crime-thriller series Mathagam. The majority of her combination shots were with actor Manikandan. She will be seen in an intense role, playing a character suffering from post-traumatic depression. According to the actor, while she enjoyed playing the role, filming the intense scenes was not easy.

The shoots of her portions were held in Chennai in two separate houses and an old godown. " We had several night shoots. Apart from battling sleeplessness, we also had to contend with mosquitoes in the old godown. I was armed with mosquito repellants as well as mosquito bats to protect myself," says DD. Shooting inside the dust-laden, musty old godown interiors was another hazard she had to battle. However, the joy of acting and her love for art had given Dhivya the strength and vigour to power through the rough shooting conditions.

On another occasion, she had to travel to a distant location on the outskirts of Chennai. "Once we reached, I realised that the actual shoot was to be held further away, in a place where cars could not reach as there was no road. We had to walk to the location." 

But due to recent rains in the area, the wet ground was full of slush, making it almost impossible to walk through. "The director arranged special tractors to reach the location." However, getting onto the tractors was a challenge. "I couldn't walk through the slush to reach the tractor, nor climb up to the seat, as I have a knee problem. So, the bouncers accompanying us had to carry me on a large jute bag to the location and back every day." The shoot went on there for nearly 5 days, sometimes even till midnight, during which it was tough for even the unit to transport their equipment to and fro. "That was one unforgettable experience," she says.

She also shot romantic scenes on screen for the first time. "Director Prasath Murugesan narrated the story, script and situations in detail, with utmost clarity. My co-star Manikandan too was easy to get along with. During breaks, we would chat on a variety of topics from music to cinema. So, all of this made me comfortable while shooting the romantic scenes, which I found were very aesthetically captured."