Sarang Thiagu: Aaromaley debates the idea of hopeless romance
The camaraderie within the team of Aaromaley — director Sarang Thiagu and actors Kishen Das, Shivathmika, and Harshath Khan — is quite enviable. Despite delving into serious themes, they peppered the conversation with laughter, fun banter, and pulling each other's legs without any malice. When Shivathmika mentioned that her character Anjali in Aaromaley was “a little mean,” Harshath couldn’t resist cracking a lame joke by connecting the word to its Tamil connotation: fish. From there, the conversation took its own course, drifting in directions only friends could steer. That warmth and ease mirror their film’s coming-of-age energy, one that, as Sarang puts it, “debates the idea of hopeless romance.” In this lively exchange, the director and the lead actors of Aaromaley open up about love, their characters, the female perspective, and everything in between.
The protagonist in Aaromaley is named Ajith. Was that name inspired by Ajith Kumar sir?
Sarang Thiagu (ST): Ever since Kishen and I began developing the story, the lead character’s name was Ajith. It actually came from Kishen’s real-life friend who shares the same name.
Kishen Das (KD): Yes, I have a friend named Ajith who’s exactly like my character in Aaromaley. When we started writing the script, the name just flowed naturally from pen to paper. We stuck with it all the way. In fact, the final shot of the film was taken at his house. It felt like things came full circle. But no, there’s absolutely no connection to Ajith Kumar sir!
Kishen, what steps did you take to make Ajith different from Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee's Vinoth and Tharunam's Arjun?
KD: I buried Arjun with Tharunam. Arjun doesn’t exist in me anymore. Sarang was very particular that I shouldn’t bring Vinoth from Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee (MNMN) into Aaromaley. He kept reminding me that comparisons would be inevitable because of the school portions, but he made sure I didn’t repeat myself. I was in my early 20s when I did MNMN, and now I’m older and more mature, which also shows on screen.
Harshath, this is your first time sitting on the other side of the table as an actor. How does that feel?
Harshath Khan (HK): (Laughs) Only now do I realise how much I’ve tortured actors and directors with my questions during interviews! It’s so easy to ask but so hard to answer.
Shivathmika, your character, Anjali, from Aaromaley, seems to have a rude demeanour when compared to all your other characters. How did you approach it?
Shivathmika: It was fun to play someone who's a bit mean, strict, and rarely smiles, which is completely unlike me! I only become Anjali when I’m really angry. But Anjali is always serious and no-nonsense. Of course, she has her reasons for being that way, and I think the audience will eventually understand and love her for it.
Sarang, how much of a Gautham Menon influence can we expect in Aaromaley?
ST: The influence of filmmakers like Gautham Menon sir and Mani Ratnam sir is definitely there. We all grew up watching their films, so it’s bound to reflect in our work. Interestingly, Anjali’s character in Aaromaley actually challenges that. She believes the kind of romance in a GVM film can only exist in fiction. She’s all about practical love, while Kishen’s character, Ajith, is a hopeless romantic. Their differing ideologies create the film’s central conflict—whether they can find common ground or compromise for love.
Sarang, the definition of love is very different in Tamil romance films these days...
ST: There’s often a mass generalisation about Gen Z’s idea of love, as if everyone loves the same way. But love is deeply personal; it can never be generalised. In Aaromaley, we’ve tried to portray what love means to people across different age groups. Each stage of life brings its own version of love.
You had a woman, Ashameera Aiyappan, in your writing team. How did a female perspective help shape the screenplay?
ST: I knew from the start that I needed a woman’s perspective. It’s not easy for a man to understand what runs through a woman’s mind, and I didn’t want to misrepresent that. We brought in Ashameera to shape Anjali’s character. For example, there are moments in relationships where a woman chooses to walk away, and it comes across negatively on screen. We wanted to avoid things like that. I think audiences will see that Anjali is written with empathy and depth.
Shivathmika: Even as an actor, I felt comfortable enough to discuss my lines with Sarang. If something didn’t sound right or felt unnatural for a woman to say, he always gave me the space to talk it through. That kind of collaboration is rare and refreshing.
ST: There was even a line that Shivathmika and our teammate Vivek debated for nearly two hours! It was a healthy argument that went on forever. Finally, our editor stepped in and suggested she say the line and that he’d handle it in editing. I ended up keeping it in the film.
Sarang, how did you manage to bring Silambarasan on board as narrator?
ST: Simbu sir watched the film and personally called me to share his thoughts. He said, 'The film will be a hit; promote it well.' That call is something I’ll never forget. He didn’t have to do it, given his stature and busy schedule, but he spoke for quite a while. During that call, I asked if he’d do a voiceover, and he immediately said yes, without any commercial motive. He’s not gaining anything from this. He’s done the trailer voiceover and is also recording a narration for the film. He’s doing it purely to encourage youngsters like us.
Shivathmika: There was really no need for him to go that extra mile. Even if he had just dubbed for the trailer, we’d have been grateful. But he went beyond that and discussed the film deeply with Sarang. It made all of us feel truly seen and appreciated.
Kishen, before becoming an actor, you were a film reviewer. What do you think about today's film reviewing culture?
KD: Back in 2017, when I started reviewing films, we’d watch every single release, no matter how big or small. Sometimes, it would just be four of us reviewers in a theatre watching a tiny film with barely any audience, racing to publish our reviews first. We reviewed out of pure love for cinema, even skipping lunch sometimes to meet deadlines.
The names attached to a film or its budget never mattered back then. But things have changed. When my own film Tharunam was released recently, it didn’t do well. But what hurt more was that it wasn’t reviewed at all. Whether a review is positive or negative doesn’t matter; what matters is that the film is spoken about. My humble request to critics today is, please review every film. Small actors and filmmakers like us really need that visibility and support.
