Having read books by Agatha Christie and Sydney Sheldon in his younger days, Singapore-based filmmaker Vinay Baharadwaj had longed to take his audience into a fictional world of mystery, thriller and psychological drama.
So he jumped at the chance when Malaysian radio personality, film producer and actress “Punnagai Poo” Gheetha’s MediaOne Global Entertainment approached him to make a Tamil film.
She was impressed by Vinay’s first feature film Kannada Mundina Nildana, which was released in November 2019.
Vinay worked on the story idea for his Tamil film in 2021 and spent two years writing and directing Sila Nodigalil, to be released worldwide on Nov 24.
Starring Gheeta, Richard Rishi (brother-in-law of Tamil star Thala Ajith) and Big Boss Tamil finalist Yashika Aannand, the film revolves around murder, mystery and drama.
It tells the story of married London cosmetic surgeon Raj Varadhan, who falls in love with a model, Maya Pillai. But she dies of a drug overdose and his life turns topsy-turvy.
Will he be able to hide his secrets from his wife Medha Varadhan? Will his life become normal again?
Sila Nodigalil was shot in the small town of Chelmsford, two hours from London, over 35 days.
“It’s an intense mystery drama, a great cinematic experience for all,” said Vinay, 40.
Vinay, who was born and brought up in Bengaluru and moved to Singapore in 2004 to pursue an MBA at MDIS, has directed the English web series CoffeeShots for Mediacorp’s Channel 5.
He spent nine years working in a bank in Singapore before hosting YouTube show Let’s Talk With Vinay.
He shot to fame for hosting Kannada talk show Mathu Kathe Vinay Jothe and went regional when he hosted Salaam Namasthe Singapore on Colors TV Asia Pacific.
He has hosted many popular shows on international feeds of Indian channels. Star Talk With Vinay – South Meets North premiered in 130 countries and featured big names from the movie industry, such as Vidya Balan, Tabu, Rana Daggubati and Aditi Rao Hydari.
Vinay, who got into filmmaking in 2017 with short films, has never received formal education on the craft.
“I believe it’s destiny, filmmaking is a therapeutic process and divine,” said Vinay, who co-founded Singapore-based digital marketing and art company Mavendoer.
