A tale as old as time: a software engineer gets bitten by the cinema bug; he gets the unignorable passion to learn the art of filmmaking; one thing leads to another, and a romantic comedy titled Lightweight Baby, starring Vikkals Vikram and Arthy Krishna, is now all set to hit theatres. KC Guru made his foray into direction in 2021, with a Kannada film titled Cyanide Mallika. But then, for his sophomore effort, the director turns to Tamil cinema. Guru says the casting was a major reason for why he decided to make Lightweight Baby into a Tamil film. “When I finished writing and started looking for people to cast, I found Vikkals Vikram, who is from Tamil Nadu and then Arthy Krishna, who is from Kerala. As the actors took on the characters, I thought they would thrive better in a Tamil film.
Lightweight Baby is a romantic comedy that revolves around the relationship between a stand-up comedian and a female bodybuilder. And as someone from Bengaluru, a city with a vibrant stand-up comedy scene, Guru still chose to spin his story around a Tamil comedian. He explains, “The Bengaluru stand-up comedy scene is more English than Kannada. Also, in Bengaluru, there are more Tamil comedy shows happening than in Kannada.” According to the director, the story also demanded a “comedian who was overweight.” Then the question naturally arises: are we going to get body-shaming jokes at the expense of Vikram’s character? “That is exactly the point the film aims to address. Making jokes based on appearance is not the tone of comedy we are going for.”
On how he came up with the idea for Lightweight Baby, Guru talks about his desire to do a film on unconventional romance. “The story started with a female bodybuilder and the stigma they face and the challenges that come with being stereotyping. When Vikkals Vikram came into the project, he brought the inputs of his experiences as a stand-up comedian. This is about people from two completely different worlds coming together, finding love and changing each other’s lives,” says Guru. While Vikkals Vikram is known for his viral social media skits, stand-up routines, and Bigg Boss Tamil, Arthy Krishna, who plays the female bodybuilder, is a newcomer. On why he chose to go with a debutant for the role, Guru is full of praise for the actor: “I don’t think any existing actor could fit the character because I don’t think any actor could come close to the physique Arthy has. She is a professional bodybuilder and also, despite her muscular physique, she has a feminine face, and that was exactly the combination I was looking for.”
Coming to the title of the film, which is a reference to the popular catchphrase of legendary bodybuilder Ronnie Coleman, Guru explains, “Just like how Mr Ronnie Coleman says ‘Lightweight baby’ and pushes through the pain to lift heavy weights, we have to brush past the obstacles in our life. Lightweight baby is not just a catchphrase, it is a philosophy for life,” Guru concludes with a smile.
