PETALING JAYA: ‘En Muzhuvale’, a Tamil language pilot film by writer, actor, director and filmmaker Shatish Rao was a huge success during its premiere on Aug 26 at the Pawagam Mini P.Ramlee, Finas.

Shatish, an aspiring filmmaker, alongside his co-actors and crew presented a beautiful and captivating love story which touched on the aspect of true love and heartache, of having loved and lost.

The storyline and idea was basically based on Shatish’s vision years ago when he was a part-time e-hailing driver.

It starts with Ajay (played by Shatish) who goes on his rounds as an e-hailing driver and picks up Aravind (played by Koghilan Ravi), as Ajay picks up Aravind and drives him to his destination, Ajay plays music as a way to make his customer enjoy the ride at the same time feel comfortable and relaxed.

Halfway through the drive, Aravind receives a phone call from Vrusha (played by the talented and beautiful Dhiviyaa Rathi), his girlfriend. As the couple starts the conversation, Ajay obviously can’t help but listen to Aravind’s conversation to Vrusha, and smiles (perhaps Ajay is reminded of a former flame?) as Aravind speaks to his girlfriend Vrusha in a gentle and lovey-dovey tone.

After the conversation ends, Ajay, a friendly e-hailing rider starts a conversation with Aravind and jokingly says, “That was a special someone, wasn’t it,? A guy will only speak in such a manner to his lady ..not even to his mom nor his sister. (Well, if you’re Tamil speaking, do watch the movie to really get the meaning of this translation).

Aravind smiles and the two men start a casual conversation, as they drive and talk. Ajay stops on his way to pick up Aravind’s girlfriend.

To his surprise, Aravind’s girlfriend is none other than Ajay’s ex-girlfriend. So, let the guessing game begin as the plot becomes interesting! Equally surprised is Vrusha.

Now, what happens next?

As the couple talk, Ajay who is still in love with Vrusha listens to their conversation.

If you would like to know what happens next, curious, will Ajay and Vrusha get back together or will she stay with her current beau? I encourage you to watch the full movie, ‘En Muzhuvale’ on SR Production YouTube channel now!

The entire 27 minute short film captivated the audiences, the writer can confidently say this because we were present at the premiere.

The writer applauds director Shatish and his entire talented and dedicated crew, not to mention his co-director Piraga Krishnan, assistant director Praveen Veerasingam, producers, a special music rendition by R Danny Daniel and amazing cinematography by TS Mathan and assistant Sarah Lingam.

Now, let’s hear what the main cast have to say about their splendid, natural and brilliant performance.

Main man of the show, Shatish in an interview with theSun when asked on how did the idea of the storyline come about, said: “The idea of the film is completely fictional, but as I was a part-time grab driver a few years back, it struck my mind to do a film.”

When asked further, as a director, what intrigues you to make a particular film, and what would you like to educate, empower or send a message to your audiences in this film?

To this, he said, “A line of a movie, also called a logline, intrigues me to make a film. Secondly, the process of writing the script which ultimately is being shown on the screen is simply amazing; even though it can be challenging when we love what we are doing, we have no complaints.

“I also believe in the term “entertain”. I firmly focus on entertaining my audience, I will work hard to not disappoint my audience & waste their time. Classifying it as a message-driven film or empowering-focused, all I want to achieve is entertaining my audience,” said the young 26-year-old filmmaker.

And it was entertaining! We were laughing at the premiere.

His co-actress Dhiviyaa Rathi when asked how did she feel about her role in ‘En Muzhuvale’ and the challenges that she personally felt while playing the role, said: “As of for the character, it is one that’s very close to my heart as it was tied up with different types of conflicting emotions to emote.

“Of course there were challenges to bring Vrusha to life as the directors were particular on the meter she should be in for each scene to make sure her feelings and thoughts are expressed well without clash, “ she explained.

Asked further on how she would like to potentially see herself on the screens and what roles and what genres that intrigue her the most, the humble Dhiviyaa said, “As an actress, I envision myself taking on a diverse range of roles and genres. I’m particularly intrigued by challenging dramatic roles that allow me to deeply explore emotions and complex characters.

“However, I also have a fondness to bring lighthearted and relatable characters to life. I aspire to be versatile, stepping into roles that push my boundaries and resonate with audiences in meaningful ways,” said the brilliant actress.

Meanwhile, co-actor Koghilan Ravi who played Aravind had this to say: “My role as Arvind in the film has been a personal milestone in my learning journey as an actor, I feel. Because as an actor it is also important to keep up to the speed of a team.”

On the cast and crew, Aravind said his main challenge was to live up to the professionalism of the ‘En Muzhuvale’ team stating, “That being said “En Muzhuvale” crew was a highly skilled technical team, trying to give them a equally strong performance was a great challenge which to be frank I kind of wish for.

Commenting further on his dream in filmmaking and acting, he added, “ It is my dream to make a living from making films. We were all thought to make money or earn a living by doing something we love.

“As for me, that would be to be a full time filmmaker. So any roles or genres or movies that help me take a step closer to that goal, I would be very much excited to do so.”

In conclusion, ‘En Muzhuvale’ is evident that Malaysia has a great pool of talented filmmakers, many have great ideas and storylines just waiting for a chance to go to the big screens.

The writer especially loved the climax of the film, but no spoilers! Watch the film and be entertained.