I had planned 'Vargam' to be about a soldier: director

Kochi, March 26 (IANS) Malayalam director M. Padmakumar says he had initially planned a film about a soldier instead of a corrupt police officer for his latest hit "Vargam".

"When you are scripting a story, you start with an idea but may have to drop it when you find stumbling blocks in the narrative," said Padmakumar.

"Vargam", a slick action-packed family entertainer, has received acclaim for Prithviraj's performance as the corrupt cop. The director said he was confident about the character as the Malayalam audience had always accepted leading actors in negative roles.

Was it difficult to convince Prithviraj?

"No, no, he was more confident than me. He was involved in the project from the very beginning. Sometimes, he used to encourage me also," Padmakumar told IANS.

Padmakumar's first directorial venture "Ammakillikoodu", starring Prithviraj, was scripted by director Ranjith, with whom he had worked as an associate.

He had assisted Ranjith in a couple of his films after "Ammakillikoodu".

The influence of Ranjith is visible in "Vargam" too. Padmakumar acknowledges this, saying Ranjith had read the script at various stages and made suggestions, which were incorporated in the film.

The 38-year-old director has assisted other stalwarts of the Malayalam industry including Hariharan, I.V. Sasi and Shaji Kailas. Some well known filmmakers who saw the film have praised his efforts. The feed back from the audience has been positive.

"Only a couple of people from film fraternity have bluntly said that it fell short of their expectations. But I feel it is okay," he said with a smile.

The director said he is happy with the final outcome of the film and the response from the audience.

He promised to cast Prithviraj in his next venture too.

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Vargam