'I had to strike a balance'

Candid Chat

Ramesh Aravind never seems to age. He looks exactly the way he looked when he began his career. He attributes this youthful spirit to the many things he juggles to perfection.

 Ramesh's directorial, ‘Uttama Villain’  which has been written by Kamal Hassan is in its last leg of shooting. 

If so much work is not enough, Ramesh has also begun hosting a TV show called 'Weekend with Ramesh' where he gets actors to do some plain-talking on screen. “It is a show that’s designed to entertain the whole family. There’ll be a lot of energy, fun and excitement packed into each episode,” he assures. 

Ramesh says that the show will feature celebrities and will unravel interesting facets about actors that people wouldn’t normally know. “We get the actors to talk about the ordinary things in their life, like where they hang out or just where they go for a haircut. The show takes one on a tour of the simple things that they indulge in,” he shares. Ramesh points out that the show is designed to evoke positive spirit in the viewers.

“The show makes you realise that the celebrities are ordinary people who lead simple lives. We also call on the show people who matter to the celebrity who is being interviewed and those who are invited is not revealed till the last moment,” he states. There will be 24 episodes in the first season, informs Ramesh.   

Ramesh says that he and Kamal have been planning on working together on ‘Uttama Villain’ for a long time. The two have also managed to rope in their mentor, ace yesteryear director K Balachander to don the grease paint for the film. Taking one through the film, Ramesh says, “The film will be a family entertainer with loads of action sequences thrown in to keep the audience on the edge of their seats.” This project has kept Ramesh on his toes and he hasn’t really signed any other project. “Kamal plays a super star in the first half of the filmand in the second part he plays a folk artist from the eighth century. The film has roped in the best actors from all language industries and we have a make up man from Korea. The film has a global character,” he states  Ramesh has devoted the last one and half years to the making of ‘Uttama Villain’ and there have been many challenging moments along the way, “I am dealing with very creative minds and people with different attitudes and tempers. I had to strike a balance to make sure I don’t slip up anywhere,” he signs off.