The series, directed by renowned local filmmaker Kabilan Plondran, featured Vicky Rao, Zubir Khan, Shamini Shradha, 'Chinepaiyen' Blake Yap, and Kuben Mahadevan, among others.
Astro recently caught up with some of the cast members for a quick chat. Below is the interview:
Please tell us about your roles in Kadhaanayagi.
Vicky: I played 'Saran', a humble, soft spoken and independent person who prefers to stand on his own feet although he is from a wealthy family. I could relate to Saran's character. Directors Ravyn Manogaran and Martin Raj were my inspiration for the character.Blake: I played ‘Willy’, which is actually a character completely opposite to mine. Willy always tries to avoid conflicts among those around him, and it was so much fun playing this character. As I'm unable to speak Tamil fluently, I was able to portray Willy's character more realistically.
Shamini: I played the "ghost", who was brutally murdered by an organ theft syndicate. The character was detailed, and precise, and I am extremely happy to have played such a powerful and remarkable character for the first time in my career. Kadhaanayagi is a must-watch series with family and friends, as it consists of many laugh-out-loud moments.
How was your experience acting in Kadhaanayagi?
Vicky: There was good chemistry between the cast member. As this was the first time I played the lead role, I felt stress doing justice to the character. However, I was able to pull through with the encouragement and guidance from the directed, Kabilan Plondran.Blake: The challenge was speaking the Tamil dialogues. The assistant director, Heshvind, always ran through the dialogues with me to make it sound more natural, while the director gave me the space to always improvise.
The most unforgettable moment was when I was required to perform for more than a minute with most of the dialogue in Tamil. I memorised and rehearsed for six hours before delivering the performance in just three takes. I hope the audience enjoyed the scene.
Shamini: This is one of the characters I have always wanted to play in my career, as it required mental and physical strength. To ensure the "ghost's" appearance looked realistic, the make-up artiste used special effects make-up that drastically alters and individual's appearance through sculpting, molding, and other techniques.
I required medical attention and treatment after developing severe rashes on my skin. In addition, I was also required to wear a 22mm diameter contact lenses to portray a more "ghostly" look. All my struggles and hard work paid off when I saw the outcome of my performance.
I have read stories about people playing ghost characters being possessed on set, and I underwent something similar well. There was a scene where I continued "strangling" my co-star long after the directed had called cut, as I could not hear the scene being ended, and I was unable to remember what had happened. It took a while for me to come to my sense, with the support of my team, who were shaken by the incident. There were also days that we had to call off and reschedule the shoots due to unexpected incidents at the shooting location.
You can now catch Kadhaanayagi on Astro Go, and On Demand anytime at your convenience.