'Audience can understand if the art is not presented with utmost honesty'

In the age of digital media, and dwindling attention span, it is important for a film to capture the audience's right from its first look. Just like other films of this era, Potential Studios' upcoming multi-starrer Irugapatru too had to hit the highs to capture its target audience's attention. It is to this effect that director Yuvaraj Dhayalan had quite the ingenious plan to stand out from the crowd, yet reach every member. 

The teaser of Irugapatru, which stars the likes of Vikram Prabhu, Shraddha Srinath, Vidharth, Abernathy, Sri, and Saniya Iyappan, had a distinct difference from other regular teasers. This teaser featured random real-life couples undergoing a social experiment and not even a glimpse of its stellar cast. "Right from Day 1, we were sure of featuring real-life couples instead of the reel couples to drive home the concept of the film. Irugapatru is a social impact film, and I wanted the teaser to reflect that," says Yuvaraj, adding, "If even a small percentage of the audience is affected by the teaser, and make an attempt to introspect into their lives, I'd be a happy man."

Irugapatru revolves around three couples, who are affected by the vagaries of love, and a highlight of the casting is the return of Maanagaram actor Sri after a self-imposed sabbatical. "In fact, I first gave him the script to take him onboard the direction team. After reading the script, he was adamant about playing this character. In some ways, I am glad that my writing was strong enough for him to decide Irugapatru to be his comeback vehicle." 

Having previously helmed films like Tenaliraman, Eli, and Potta Potti, Yuvaraj is well-aware of the kind of baggage he has. In fact, in multiple interviews, he has been open about his previous directorial ventures not being successful and admitted they weren't really his best works. "It is important I am honest to myself before anything else. I strongly believe the audience can understand if the art is not presented with utmost honesty. So, I don't want to repeat my mistakes. I know my weakness, and I realise that those films didn't really have the essence of my self," says Yuvaraj, signing off with an extremely confident punchline. "I definitely guarantee that Irugapatru is all me."