D.I. Kabil directs and stars in his debut, Love Project

D.I. Kabil is doing the thing most first-timers only get to do one half of. He is directing his debut feature and playing its lead. The film is Love Project, a romance built around the way young people fall for each other now, and it carries a single line as its calling card: a new language for love.

Kabil earned his hours on set the way a lot of this generation of filmmakers has, working on a short film alongside Pradeep Ranganathan before deciding the next step was his own set. On Love Project he takes the whole spine of the picture. Story, screenplay, dialogue and direction are all his, and he stands in front of the camera as the hero on top of that.

Sangeetha plays the female lead. The supporting cast pulls in Vijay TV Sakthivel, Kundu Sathya, Vinoth and Vijay Senathipathi. Behind the camera, Sathik Kabeer handles cinematography, Simeon Delber scores the film and writes its songs, Abinesh cuts it, and Deva choreographs.

Kabil frames the film around contemporary love, relationships and the feelings that sit underneath both. He says the team is chasing a fresh screenplay, a different visual grammar and a clean technical finish rather than a familiar template.

“Our aim is to hand audiences love from a new angle,” Kabil said. “Love Project should be a film that stays in people’s minds for a long time.”

Work is in its final stretch. A first look motion poster and the official announcement are lined up to arrive shortly, and the film is being readied for a theatrical run.