‘Pairon Tale` director`s next is `Traas (The Profane)`

Chennai: Sidharth Srinivasan, known for his critically acclaimed debut feature film ‘Pairon Tale’, has confirmed that his next Hindi outing is titled ‘Traas (The Profane)’, a fever-dream horror fable.

"My next project is called `Traas`. It is a horror story about a family literally tearing itself apart, set against the hallucinatory backdrop of Varanasi," Srinivasan said. "`Traas` is a contemporary Indian horror story derived from deeply rooted beliefs in the sanctity of the family unit and the eternal struggle between life and death," he added. The film, which will go on floors in the first half of 2013, is a joint venture between Britain-based Rook films, known for projects such as ‘Kill List’ and ‘Sightseers’, Korea-based Finecut, known for films such as ‘Oldboy’, ‘I Saw the Devil’ and ‘Ouevre’, and Reel Illusion Films, owned by Srinivasan himself. Asked how he managed to find two international companies to fund his project, Srinivasan said, "I knew Pete and Andy of Rook Films since my last outing. About the same time, I told them of this iconoclastic and edgy idea I had for a very rooted and truly `Indian` horror yarn. They were very excited about the project and then over the course of jointly attending various project markets, our collaboration strengthened." "I felt a need for a strong sales agent at the script stage itself and given Finecut`s incredibly provocative yet sophisticated slate of films, I sincerely felt that they would know best how to position a unique art-horror film like `Traas` and also sell it accordingly. And fortunately for us, they absolutely loved the script and agreed to step on board as sales agent and co-producer," he added. Srinivasan, who has already zeroed in on Adil Hussain for a pivotal role, is also in discussion for a leading Bollywood actress, while the rest of the cast is yet to be finalised. Benoit Debie is the director of photography for the film, which will be shot in Varanasi, where most of the post-production work will also take place. The computer generated imagery (CGI) will take place in Korea. "The film will be ready by the first quarter of 2014 and with Finecut on board as sales company, I am extremely positive on international sales," he said. He added: "`Traas` refers to a sense of dread or awe or repulsion - and that`s exactly the sentiment the script aspires to conjure." IANS