When working on her next film, a thriller titled Amigo, heroine Chandini Tamilarasan shot for her portions entirely in Chennai. "The first schedule of this shoot was a new experience for me. Director Praveen was shooting only my portions, so, apart from the film's crew, I was the only actor on sets!" says Chandini. She adds, "When there are multiple actors on sets, one can chat with them while the crew is busy setting up the shot. Also, when co-stars have scenes, it means more breaks for the rest of the actors who are not in those shots. But, here, apart from breaks for lighting and camera, I was working constantly since I was the sole actor. Also, multiple actors bring their unique viewpoints with which one can improvise and rehearse. But without any of that, this was something new for me. Moreover, that schedule was shot fully at night, which was also more exhausting."
However, Chandini enjoyed playing the role of a model in the film. "Being a former Miss Chennai finalist, I have modelling experience. So, for the first time, the prospect of acting in a film as a model, a role with shades of glamour, was exciting for me. Unlike my earlier films, I had to concentrate more on hair and make-up. We also had a lot more costume changes. So I had a lot of fun. For the ramp walk scenes, there were several other girls on sets. It felt nice interacting with them, dressing up and looking good with fancy clothes, heels, accessories and the works!" she laughs.
On the flipside, for the actor, playing a model also meant paying attention to maintaining a certain weight, working out more and being on a strict diet during the entire shoot of the film.
Apart from ramp walking, Chandini also had scenes in which she shot for ads. "That was like a trip down memory lane, because I have worked as a model for over 100 advertisements. Having the experience, I knew those scenes required a certain extra pep, a more exaggerated body language, and chirpiness during dialogue delivery. Moreover, the cameraman and director are both from the ad world, so it was easy to get into that zone."
Apart from shooting inside a house and on the beach, Chandini also shot a few scenes inside a real pub for this thriller. "In the pub scenes, we had lots of energetic, young junior artists who added to the scene with their vibrancy. It was fun to interact with all of them. Shooting for Amigo has been an exciting and novel experience which also took me down memory lane!"