Blockbuster Tamil filmmaker Lokesh Kanagaraj's Leo starring 'Thalapathy' Vijay is set to open in cinemas on October 19. Coming out amidst massive hype, the hit director sat down with National Award-winning film critic Baradwaj Rangan, the Editor-in-Chief of Galatta Plus, to talk about the upcoming film and also discuss the nearly two-month shooting schedule in Kashmir earlier this year. Speaking about the decision to carry out non-stop filming for Leo during the first schedule in Kashmir, Lokesh Kanagaraj said, "Basically, that situation was completely new to me. I had never gone outsude of Chennai to shoot films. I went to Delhi to shoot Master for a month. I had never been to Kashmir and didn't explore any of the locations. The artistes in the film have gone there before, but mostly to shoot songs for 3-4 days. It was like a shift for us all."
Lokesh Kanagaraj further explained, "The shooting crew consisted of nearly 1,000-1,100 people every day. There was a situation when it came down to taking a break for a day and not carrying out any shooting. However, I was firm about not taking any breaks and carrying forward with the shooting because the goal was to complete filming in those 53 days. If there is a break for even a day, you can see that little lethargic feeling the next day during shooting. I was determined not to allow that to happen and made it clear that we should finish the shooting on time as per the schedule that was finalized. We landed there in January and began shooting the next day morning. Likewise, after the last day's shoot, we immediately took a flight and came back here."
Talking about how he always had an alternate shooting plan for the Kashmir schedule, Lokesh stated, "A film like Leo made on this budget is usually made in 2-3 years. However, the time limit that we had was we announced the release date in the first look poster and had to complete filming at the earliest so that we could proceed with the post-production works. Furthermore, when the artistes keep shooting continuously, they will be in that mood." He continued, "First of all, taking breaks during the shooting won't work for me. The shooting needs to be completed when that excitement and high is there. And, that is why, every day we have two plans. If there is rainfall outdoors, we'll focus on what can be shot indoors and we'll be prepared for it. The word 'cancel' won't be said and the shooting will not stop. There will always be a Plan B. So, in such a scenario, we call the artistes who are free and shoot with them."
Watch Lokesh Kanagaraj in conversation with Baradwaj Rangan in the video below: