A film on Chennai's 2013 fake marriage cartel

Director Mohan G, who’s Pazhaya Vannarapettai received critical acclaim from the critics and audience alike, is ready with his next. And, just like last time, this time too, his film is based on real-life incidents.

Mohan reveals, “The film is titled Draupadi. In the Mahabharata, Draupadi takes an oath and the Pandavas leave no stone unturned to fulfill it.

In the film, the hero goes any length to fulfill a promise by his beloved. The plot is inspired by a fake marriage cartel which was uncovered in Chennai in 2013 where around 3,500 fake weddings were registered in the city. Weddings were solemnised even without the physical presence of the groom and the bride, and certificates were issued. I first read about it in an article in The Times of India. I soon began doing the groundwork for the film.”

Draupadi has Richard Rishi and Sheela Rajkumar playing the leads and has music by Jubin. “I had worked with Richard in Pazhaya Vannarapettai and we share a great rapport. The lead actor had to sport a beard throughout the film. When I pitched the plot to Richard, all he said was, ‘Just tell me what Rudra Prabhakaran (the name of his character in the film) has to do. I will do it’. I think we have a great chemistry as director and actor,” says Mohan.

Richard, on the other hand, is excited to be back with the team of Pazhaya Vannarapettai. “Draupadi is a rustic film and has been largely shot in Chennai, Vellore and Ariyalur. The plot is set in north Tamil Nadu,” he informs. The actor, who has done mainly action roles in the recent past says that he wants to experiment with his characters. “I am ready to play all kinds of roles. In fact, I am playing a villain in Paramapadham Vilayattu (starring Trisha in the lead) and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s just that the films that have come my way have been action-packed,” he states. Interestingly, Draupadi is an independent, crowd-funded film. “When I mooted the idea of the film, not many came forward to produce it. So, we had to opt for crowd-funding,” reveals Mohan on why they chose to take this route.