Director Arivazhagan: I initially planned for Sabdham to be a part of the Eeram franchise 

Any debut filmmaker, who delivered a super hit in his maiden attempt, would be tempted to repeat their success formula and scale bigger heights with his sophomore project. But, Arivazhagan who had the story ready for an Eeram sequel, right after the massive success of the original, turned down the idea to avoid being typecast. "I had the core story of Eeram 2 ready and was contemplating the idea of going ahead with it after my debut was declared a hit. But within a few days, I decided to proceed with a different genre that was unrelated to Eeram, as I didn't want to limit myself to horror. Also, back then when a filmmaker opted to make a sequel to his hit film, the audience and industry insiders assumed that their career was on the decline. That was another reason why I avoided the sequel," shares Arivazhagan while talking about his relationship with horror and his return to the genre with his upcoming film Sabdham, which is based on sounds.

"The script of Sabdham was finalised a couple of years ago and I had zeroed in on Aadhi as the hero. But the film went through production delays and we finally began shooting early this year. There was a time when I had an idea to make Sabdham a part of the Eeram franchise, but I eventually decided to leave it undisturbed," shares the filmmaker, who reveals that sound in Sabdham will be the equivalent of water in Eeram. "I want my horror films to break the usual norms of the language and surprise the audience. Instead of recreating the tropes I employed in Eeram, I have stuck to the ethics and principles I held high while I made my debut, for Sabdham."

Arivazhagan is confident that Sabdham will satisfy both the fans of Eeram and the young generation who consume content across the globe. "Sabdham is a novel attempt with hardly any resemblances to other films. I am sure that the emotional core of the film and the supernatural elements will be something that our audience hasn't heard of till now. Having said that, Sabdham won't be a film bombarding its viewers with alien terminologies and emotions. Be it a teenage school student or an 80-year-old senior citizen, everyone who watches Sabdham will connect with its emotions."

Aadhi, who investigated the series of murders donning the khakhi in Eeram, plays a paranormal investigator in Sabdham. Arivazhagan assures that his character will be grounded and is designed based on real investigators, who study and eradicate supernatural beings using professional methods. "Aadhi has evolved a lot as a performer and directing him was a pleasure. He is always eager to learn and improve. He asks a lot of questions to understand the psyche of the character completely. I studied the life of many paranormal investigators to get the details I needed for the script."

Apart from Aadhi, Sabdham has actors like Laila, Simran, Lakshmi Menon and Redin Kingsley playing important roles. "The story unfolds in Munnar and the mist in the area is almost treated like a character in the film," shares the filmmaker.

Aside from Sabdham, Arivazhagan has the long-delayed Borrder with Arun Vijay. "The shooting of the film is completed. It is a full-fledged spy thriller. Though there have been many spy films in recent years, Borrder would stand out for its unique treatment and novel message." The filmmaker is eyeing to release Sabdham in February and after that, he plans to revive Eeram 2 under director Shankar's S Pictures. "According to me, there is no end to the filmmaking process for a driven director. Many consider the shooting part to be the only major aspect of direction. But I respect the pre-production, recce, scripting, scheduling, and post-production stages equally. Though Borrder has been delayed, I remind myself that it is happening for a reason and try to divert my focus on my next work. This thought keeps me moving."