23 days in forest for Vandhaan Vendraan crew

It might have been a long time since Kannan shot Vandhaan Vendraan in the forests in the Kerala-Karnataka border, but the director says it was an experience that none of his unit members will forget.

After all, the shooting was not only full of funny incidents, it also had some thrilling moments! Says Kannan, "We shot for 23 days in the forest, where a wood house was erected by our art director, Rembon. The speciality of the house was that it was built on a slippery, uneven rock, overlooking the Gandhipara waterfalls, without any support of a base. It's an extremely beautiful woodhouse, decorated with curtains and beads. We were told that we were the first ones to erect a set in the forest."

He goes on, "Rembon told us that as the house didn't have a basement, at any given point, only 10 of us could stay inside. But, I had to shoot a song and a couple of romantic scenes between Taapsee and Jiiva inside the house; that meant I needed my entire unit inside! At the end of the day, there were about 50 people inside the set, along with trolleys and heavy cameras. We used to move about like cats, without shaking things up."

It was not just the house that gave the team some excitement; there were poisonous scorpions that gave them sleepless nights!

"When we decided to shoot inside the forest, the officials warned us about leeches and karunthel (black scorpion) that infested the woods. This species of scorpion is extremely lethal. Its sting is poisonous and leads to instant death. So, we went inside the forest fully prepared. We even had a few doctors accompanying us," says Kannan.

But, he quickly adds that Jiiva turned the serious schedule into a funny one! "Jiiva is a prankster and he didn't let go of this opportunity to tease Taapsee. He would throw a stick on her and scare her, saying that a scorpion was near her! She would panic, but as soon as she would realise what Jiiva was up to, she would gear up to fight with him," he laughs.

Currently, Kannan is shooting the climax scenes in Mumbai. "We're canning important scenes between Jiiva and Nandha, who plays a pivotal role in the film. Taapsee will be joining us in a couple of days. With this, 90 per cent of the film is over. We will probably fly to Morocco by March to shoot a song," he informs.