Simbu plays manmadhan in my film, reveals Dragon director Ashwath Marimuthu

Director Ashwath Marimuthu returns with Dragon, a college-themed drama starring Pradeep Ranganathan, set for release on February 21.

Four years after the release of his debut film Oh My Kadavule, director Ashwath Mairumuthu is back with Dragon starring his good friend, actor-director Pradeep Ranganathan. Produced by AGS Entertainment, the movie also stars Anupama Parameswaran, Kayadu Lohar, Mysskin, Gautham Vasudev Menon, KS Ravikumar and Sneha. As the movie gears up for release on February 21, the 34-year-old director reveals to Hindustan Times that this movie is a drama that was especially written for Pradeep Ranganathan.

Ashwath Marimuthu speaks about collaborating with Simbu.

How different would Dragon be from Oh My Kadavule? “In terms of the heart of the film, in terms of the storytelling and in terms of the emotional connect – it’s going to be the same. The audience is going to come out of theatres with a smile and with a little bit of tears in their eyes. They are going to walk out happily, feeling that they are also successful. That is probably going to be the success of the film. But in terms of the angle, On My Kadavule is more of a romance while Dragon has a college backdrop. The theme of the film is that no matter what you earn, if you earn it honestly and take care of your family and live a happy life then you are successful. There is drama centred around a want which we haven’t revealed in the trailer. Dragon is going to be a more commercial, entertaining film,” explained Ashwath.

Pradeep Rangathanan, who plays Ragavan ‘Dragon’ Dhanapal, had a ₹100 crore blockbuster with his 2022 film, Love Today. Ashwath is confident that Dragon will satisfy and appeal to the common audience and added that while Pradeep and he are good friends and had initial discussions before he started writing Dragon, this movie is an out-and-out Ashwath Marimuthu film. “We back each other in every film possible but in Dragon, Pradeep was an actor. I’m a very strict director. That’s the complaint everyone who worked in the film has with me,” he smiled, explaining, “I didn’t allow them to modify even a single dialogue. It’s my film and I was clear that everyone should stick to that. The way I’ve written the film, every dialogue and each scene connects from one to the other. And while someone may add something believing it is funny; it won’t land properly as a film. It could break the character arc or change the character traits, etc.”

The Ori Devuda director believes that Pradeep, whom he studied with in college and has been friends with for over a decade, remains the same person but has evolved as a hero. “Pradeep has all the traits to become a big star – he’s extremely punctual, hardworking, and the first person on set. Since he’s also a director, when you work with him, people think that there would have been a collaboration and he would have given inputs but nothing like that happened. He’s just an actor in this film. And he knows that when you come to another director’s set, you have to be an actor. He knows the line that he shouldn't cross. This is like Rajinikanth sir and Vijay sir – they may talk about the film before going to the shoot but on set, they are actors and do whatever the director wants and leave,” he stressed.

Ashwath also stated that thanks to producers AGS Entertainment, he didn’t face challenges while shooting the film and he made Dragon the way he envisioned it. He elaborated, “The producers have given me everything that I wanted and there has been no compromise on any aspect. If at all you find anything lacking in the movie, then it would be my mistake. The movie is in the genre that I feel is my forte and I think I played to my strengths with respect to the script.”

There are three other directors working in this film as actors namely, Mysskin, Gautham Vasudev Menon, KS Ravikumar. What was it like directing Mysskin? “The first few days were tough because like I said, I didn’t want any actor to deviate from my script. After that it was quite easy working with him. He used to encourage me a lot, give compliments and make people clap on set. The first thing people will talk about in this film is Mysskin,” he smiled.

The music of Dragon has been done by Leon James and Ashwath can’t stop singing praises of the young music director. “The music is fantastic. I’m Leon’s first and biggest marketing agent! He has done great music and songs for Dragon and I hope he gets more good opportunities,” said Ashwath, who is all set to start working on his next film with Silambarasan aka STR aka Simbu in August.

“Simbu’s film will be very different from Oh My Kadavule and Dragon. It’s a fantasy film where Simbu plays the God of Love. He is not Cupid but plays Manmadhan. The movie is a blend of fantasy and the story that I want to narrate. The character has shades of grey. When you watch the film, you’ll understand,” he added.