Penguin: Unravelling the mystery

Amazon Prime Video brings the much-awaited psychological thriller 'Penguin' from its catalogue of direct-to-slate OTT releases that were earlier scheduled for a theatrical release. A Karthik Subbaraj production, 'Penguin' stars actress Keerthy Suresh as a pregnant mother who sets out on a dangerous and physically demanding journey to unravel a mystery from her past and save her loved ones. Post the release of the movie, we spoke to director Eshavar Karthic and Keerthy.

Excerpts from the interview:

Keerthy, I heard that you immediately agreed to do the film after the first narration. What appealed to you about this character?

Keerthy: Eashvar Karthic, the director of 'Penguin', narrated me the script for about 4-5 hours and I was glued to it. The narration was highly impressive. Not for a moment I was distracted; maybe because the story had a nice driving factor. I couldn't say no to such a movie.

Secondly, I was looking for a good woman-centric film in Tamil after 'Mahanati'. Though Mahanati was a proper female-centric film, it wasn't a direct Tamil film. So when I was waiting for the right project in Tamil, Eashvar came up with this script and I completely loved it. My character in the film is not only a mother but she is also pregnant; so the role was even more challenging. Besides, I liked the genre of the movie. It's a thriller balanced with emotions. There is also an underlying message and all women would connect with it. Overall, I found it very impressive. The best part is, the product looks more than whatever he (Eashvar) narrated.

It was the eighth draft that went into filming. How true is it? What was the process like?

Eashvar: The first draft is usually a blueprint. While writing 'Penguin', there was a need for improvisations at various stages. For example, by the end of the first draft, I had an idea of my characters but the script required more work. Therefore, I sat down with my direction crew to have a discussion, post which I came up with some changes in the script. The first draft was too emotional and the thrill was lacking somewhere. I had to start from scratch and make the script sound more engaging and thrilling.

I don't think you've played a mother before. So, how did you prepare for the role?

Keerthy: The first thing I did was call my mom and ask her about pregnancy. I took a lot of tips from her - What can we do, what should we avoid, how to sit, how to sleep, can we have long nails and much more. Besides my mom, Eashvar was particular about his requirement. He penned the script when his wife was pregnant. The script itself had all the necessary details for my role. We made sure that everything is flawless.

There was another challenge that I faced during the making of this film. We were shooting in Kodaikanal and stayed there for around 20 days. The problematic part is I can't bear cold at all and this created a lot of difficulties. Thankfully, my character in the movie wears woolen clothes and the costumes kept me safe to an extent. However, the situation got really bad when I had to wear the same warm clothes in Chennai, where we shot the remaining portion of the film. Please don't ask me about it. Wearing woolens in the hot weather of Chennai was nothing less than hell!

Could you share something interesting about the movie or the shoot?

Well, the interesting part is we have used only the first 45 minutes of the film to create the teaser and trailer. Rest 1.20 hours have been kept as a secret portion, which you will know once you watch the film.

Secondly, I wanted to keep the element of mystery and thrill going throughout and that's why none of the crew members knew who the antagonist was, behind the mask. We were shooting with a very small team and it was even more difficult to maintain the suspense with less number of people. Everyone was jumping when we were shooting the climax because they were so keen.

One day, one of the team members from production was duped for a villain. He was randomly picked and he confused the entire crew like he's the villain. And, the fun part is he thought he's going to come through in the film. He doesn't know he will come for a second. He was doing his entire performance which was one a fun moment to see.

The movie also talks about Stockholm syndrome. Why did you choose to lead with that? Do you have a background in psychology or did you consult someone to build the entire piece?

Eashvar: I had a different script in mind; it was a psychological thriller. So, I was interested to know more about the subject and had spoken to many psychologists. I got to know a lot of points related to the personality of my character, one of which was Stockholm syndrome. It is a very unique psychological problem where a hostage develops strong trust and affection towards his/her captor. This gave a new dimension to my story. I read many books on the subject and gathered information about people suffering from the issue, how they react to other people, how their behaviour changes and more.

In the movie, you must have put on weight to look like a pregnant woman. How did you manage?

Keerthy: For the movie, we needed to finalise two looks of mine – for the past where I had to look thin and the present where I am pregnant and look healthier. The first case scenario wasn't a problem because I had lost some weight around the same time. But, when Eashvar asked me to gain weight, I knew it wasn't possible.

When we did the first trial, it failed miserably. I looked like a very thin woman with a belly sticking out. We had to do something about it and therefore the idea of playing with my make up came in. We avoided contouring the face too much as it would give a definition and make me look thinner. I also spoke to the DOP Karthik Palani and asked him not to give any shadows on my face. That's how I managed to look healthier.

'Penguin' is a very interesting name for a movie but what is the reason behind it?

Eashvar: Have you heard of a baby penguin getting kidnapped by other penguins of the group? Well, that's an interesting fact about this bird, which many people don't know about. Though Penguin is a very calm and beautiful bird, when it loses its kid, the bird turns very violent. This is exactly what happens in our movie.

How was it working with Keerthy Suresh?

Eashvar: When I narrated the story to our producer, he suggested me a few actresses, among which Keerthy was the priority. I wasn't looking for an action lady or a glamour doll.

Rhythm, the main character of our story, is a very simple woman. She is kind, soft and cares for her family like any other housewife. I was always sure about the character and Keethy seemed perfect to me for this role.

She has a very good knowledge of the ongoing process of filmmaking. Also, she is very good at her art and is a great listener. She agreed to do the film just after the first narration and I think we couldn't have found a better actress than her for this role.

Tell us where the inspiration for the character umbrella man came from.

Eashvar: Initially, I thought of having an antagonist that would be loved by kids but we never had plans of hiding him behind a mask. While improvising the text, the idea of using Charlie Chaplin's character in a negative role came to my mind. Nobody would have imagined Charlie Chaplin as an antagonist. And I believe it really worked for us. The kids on the set started screaming during the shoot. They were really scared of this masked man.

Were there any personal experiences that you incorporated into the shoot?

Eashvar: To be honest, I don't know because I always live in a fantasy world. So, all the characters are fictional. Before joining the film industry, I worked with a bank as the city head for almost 8 years. That job helped me understand the psychology of common people. I have done a lot of interviews in my life – nothing less than 15,000. I used that experience for my movie.