D Imman took Signal at 11.30 to work with a woman director

D Imman had a simple reason for scoring Signal at 11.30. Beyond the story, he said, he wanted to work with a woman director. When the team unveiled the Signal at 11.30 trailer and songs in Chennai on November 4, the composer also called it a healthy sign for cinema that an educationist had stepped into direction.

That educationist is Malarvizhi Natesan, who wrote and directed the psychological thriller and produces it under Alar Studios with her daughter, Shivani Subramani. It is her second film. Santhosh Prathap leads, with Bhavya Trikha and Poojitha Ponnada in the central roles, and Jayaprakash and Munishkanth in key parts. The premise, as the team laid it out at the first look, turns on a single encounter at a traffic signal late at night.

Malarvizhi said she had grown up a fan of the films of R.V. Udayakumar and Perarasu, so seeing both arrive as guests at her launch was a dream come true. Hearing that producer G. Dhananjayan liked the film, she added, gave her enormous confidence. “Music is vital to a film, and Imman sir’s score is this film’s biggest strength,” she said, crediting him with much of how the film turned out.

Santhosh echoed her. “If all of us are the crown of this film, the diamond on top is Imman sir,” he said. The film also got him dancing. Signal at 11.30, he said, is the first film in years where he has danced to a song, and he was glad it was an Imman number. He closed on the director herself: women had moved ahead in field after field and learnt to push past every obstacle, and Malarvizhi would go a long way.

Bhavya Trikha described the film as a psychological thriller unlike the usual, and said the song Jo Jo Ma connected with her personally. Poojitha Ponnada called Signal a very special film, praised Santhosh as a talented and positive co-star, and noted that while she has no scenes with Bhavya, the two already knew each other. Imman’s music, she said, was magic.

Lyricist Mohan Rajan, who wrote Jo Jo Ma, a lullaby sung by Haricharan, called it one of his most satisfying songs and said he and Malarvizhi live in the same part of Chennai. He has worked with Imman on many films, and wants to see Santhosh play the hero in plenty more.

The guests leaned into the director’s story. “When someone who runs a school makes a film, you can be sure the story is a good one,” Perarasu said, before placing Imman right after Ilaiyaraaja as the composer whose music touches the heart. R.V. Udayakumar said Tamil cinema is impossible to separate from everyday life, which is why the state’s chief ministers have come from it, and urged the industry and audiences to stand behind small-budget films.

Dhananjayan, who has seen the film, called it different and engaging. Good films have been coming out of Tamil cinema lately, he said, and they have been collecting well; he wants Signal at 11.30 to join that run. He also noted that the producers’ requests to the Tamil Nadu government were being met one by one.

Vidharth called Santhosh a gentle actor who is kind to everyone, and said the film deserved to win for that alone. If Dhananjayan had watched it and still turned up, he added, it had to be good, and the backing of “my composer Imman” only made it stronger. Blast director Subash K. Raj said he was surprised to hear one person was both directing and producing, and that the effort alone would carry the film.

Editor Kalaivanan put it plainly. Small films are what keep technicians like him alive, he said, and even if they are not celebrated, they need to be protected; he had come to the launch to say exactly that. Jayaprakash admitted he only knew his own scenes, not the full story, but said the trailer had come out wonderfully. Shivani said her own love for cinema began with the films of Perarasu and Udayakumar, and that her mother had directed the film well. Cinematographer Raja Bhattacharjee and art director Muni Krishnan said the team had given it everything.

Signal at 11.30 is coming soon to cinemas. Imman’s last word was an invitation: watch it, and then tell us.