Director Rajavel's directorial debut, House Mates, starring Darshan and Kaali Venkat in lead roles, is receiving positive reviews after its OTT premiere on ZEE5 last week. While the film was also received well upon its theatrical release, it was not a commercial success. In a recent exclusive conversation with Cinema Express, Rajavel has opened up about an alternative storyline he had in mind for the film's second half.
For the unversed, House Mates follows newlyweds Karthik and Anu, who move into an old apartment where strange occurrences unsettle their lives, leading them to uncover a paranormal mystery involving another family nearby. The mystery is attributed to a scientific phenomenon, a tesseract, which connects furniture and other non-living objects of two families at two different timelines.
Revealing details about the alternative version of the second half, he said, "In another version I had in mind, both Karthik’s and Ramesh’s families end up benefiting from the conflict. Here, both households are under financial strain—Ramesh and Viji after buying their house in 2012, and Karthik and Anu after purchasing theirs in 2022. To add to this, Ramesh’s son Mahe suffers from a health issue that requires significant money for treatment."
He continues, "This pushes the two families to turn to the tesseract’s power as a solution. Karthik and Anu from 2022 help Ramesh and Viji in 2012 earn money through gambling and lotteries, since they already know what unfolds in that timeline. They strike a deal to split the money equally, with Ramesh and Viji promising to deliver Karthik and Anu’s share in 2022 on an agreed date."
On how the film concludes, he added, "But when Ramesh and Viji fail to show up, Karthik and Anu confront their 2012 selves, accusing them of betrayal. Days later, however, a parcel arrives with money and a note revealing that Ramesh and Viji have died in an accident. Learning this in 2024, Karthik and Anu are devastated and attempt to undo reality—desperately trying to save their lives in 2022."
Aarsha Chandini Baiju, Vinodhini Vaidyanathan, Dheena, Abdool Lee, and Master Henrik are also a part of the film’s cast apart from Darshan and Kaali Venkat. House Mates is backed by Sivakarthikeyan and S Vijayaprakash under the banner of SK Productions. The crew of House Mates consists of MS Sathish as the cinematographer and Nishar Sharef as the editor.
