In Jeeva’s shoes

Kollywood lost someone special with the demise of ace director Jeeva. But the good news is that he had trained his assistants well, and the fruits of his labour is now there for all to see. In fact, it was one of his assistants, K Manigandan, who took charge of the film Dhaam Dhoom, which was under production when Jeeva met his untimely death.

What’s more, the same assistant has recently won great praise for his official launch as a director. “We were in a state of shock when Jeeva passed away. Since almost 30% of the film was yet to be canned, the responsibility fell on my shoulders. Impressed with the work on that, Media OneGlobal Entertainment approached me again for Chikku Bukku. I’ve been associated with Jeeva for over seven years. He’s my guru and I definitely miss the fact that he’s not with me during my debut,” he informs.

With an interesting star cast, Arya and Shriya Saran, Manigandan says, “As the title suggests, it is a train that is the distinguishing feature of the film. It is a journey of two people and the emotions they go through.” The film, he explains, has been shot in three colour tones. “Silver will represent London, green will represent the parts that we shot in the Western Ghats of Karnataka and a contrast red will depict Karaikudi,” he says.