'Maara' not cliché romance, it's a story about love: Director Dhilip Kumar

Tamil musical drama Maara, starring R Madhavan and Shraddha Srinath in central roles, is a tale of love and hope without being a cliche story of ''boy meets girl'', says director Dhilip Kumar. Kumar, who is making his feature directorial debut with the film, said it''s not a typical love story and approaches the emotion from different perspectives.

"Maara is a story about love. It speaks about love at the core of it. It is the central element. It is not a girl and a boy love story. The basic cliches we usually attach to romance are not there at all," the director told PTI in a Zoom interview.

The film, was produced by Prateek Chakravorty and Shruti Nallappa via their banner Pramod Films, will stream on Amazon Prime Video from January 8. The story focuses on Srinath's Paaru who finds a diary full of sketches and paintings in her new apartment. Awestruck by the artworks, Paaru heads out to find the artiste, Madhavan's Maara and experiences a new realm of art, music, drama, romance and hope.

Kumar said that he came on board the project, an adaptation of 2015's Malayalam romance drama Charlie, soon after the completion of his short film Kalki with Pramod films. The director said the whole team was aware of not making Maara look like a remake of the 2015 film.

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"That became a very interesting exercise. When I came on board, Madhavan was already attached to the project. Madhavan's character is older than Charlie, so that in itself is a major indication that 'Maara is not a remake. We are looking at a character who has seen a bit more life than a 30-year-old," he said.

Collaborating with a pan-Indian star-like Madhavan was a great experience for Kumar, who took the opportunity as a learning experience. Praising Madhavan, the filmmaker said he was "bowled over" by the actor''s professionalism and rationale approach.

"I have got a very wholesome journey with an actor who has worked in multiple departments. He was not like a senior but a teammate who was working with us to make a nice film," Kumar said. "I''m bowled over by the method he approaches a film. There is never a power equation in play. There is always a rational approach. It is normal in a star system that a star can make people do things his way. But Madhavan doesn''t operate as per that system. He is a thorough professional," he added.

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