Take a spoonful of innocence, a spoonful of happiness, a spoonful of attraction, mix it all with life lessons as a base, with a pinch of bitter instances, you get a romantic comedy. Tamil cinema audiences have always enjoyed watching 'puppy love' on screen, problematic or not. However, there has been a perception change with respect to the showcase of romance on screen, and we slowly saw the genre fall out of favour. But this is the season of love, and from what's lined up this year, and the rise of young actors, romance is clearly the flavor du jour. One of the most promising ones is With Love, which stars Tourist Family director Abishan Jeevinth and Anaswara Rajan. "Romcom is a universal genre, and the kind of story With Love is setting out to say, I believe the film eill connect with everyone," says Anaswara.
With Love will open theatrically on February 6, and the film is a first for many of its members. Director Madhan makes his debut as a director, Abishan leads a film for the first time, and this is her first full-fledged role for Anaswara in Tamil. She has been part of Raangi, which had a delayed release, and Thugs, which had her play the role of a supporting actor in the ensemble. "I was looking for a team that would feel right. Yes, story and character are important. But I was prioritising a good team because I wanted to work on a set where my mind would be free. All of that came together in With Love," shares Anaswara, who reveals that she said yes to the film two days after being approached. "This was the fastest."
Apart from Malayalam and Tamil, Anaswara has also been part of projects in Telugu and Hindi, as well. Explaining how she felt at home with Tamil, Anaswara thanked her co-stars, and how, growing up as a Malayalee, Tamil cinema was an integral part of her life. An excited Anaswara also adds that she is a huge Vijay fan. "It is sad that he is retiring from films. He does have a huge fan base in Kerala, and the fact that there will be no more Vijay films after Jana Nayagan does put a dampener on Kerala film audiences too," shares the actor, who is also visibly happy that her Super Sharanya co-star and friend Mamitha Baiju is part of his swansong.
While With Love will end up as Anaswara's first tryst with Tamil cinema as a full-fledged heroine, she was actually signed for Selvaraghavan's 7G Rainbow Colony 2, a sequel to the director's 2004 film, much earlier. Anaswara says, "I signed this film because I wanted to work with Selvaraghavan sir. It is a completely different school of cinema. It is unlike any project I have worked on before." Actor Ravi Krishna who headlined the first film is also returning for the long gestating sequel. When asked about the status of the sequel, Anaswara says, "The shooting for the film is still going on."
While Tamil cinema has had a long list of romance films, one could argue that a certain important ingredient was missing, a deeper perspective of a woman's love. "In fact, director Madhan wanted to make the film relatable to women, and explore their emotions at more than just a superficial level," says Anaswara. When asked if the film will help men finally understand women better, Anaswara signs off with a witty repartee. "Women aren't too complicated."