Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai: Soori, Ram and 70 rats

Soori had to wait his turn in Ram’s Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai. On a train set surrounded by rain, wind, thunder and around 70 rats, the director had a separate cue for practically everything. Rain first, then the train, then the wind through the window, the camera movement and the weather beyond it. By the ninth call of action, Soori recalled, it was still the rats’ turn. “The tenth action was finally for us!”

That affectionate account of life inside Ram’s world was one of the highlights of the film’s September 23 pre-release gathering in Chennai. With Nivin Pauly, Anjali and Soori leading the cast, music by Yuvan Shankar Raja and Suresh Kamatchi producing, the film reaches cinemas on October 1.

Soori admitted he had initially been nervous. Arun K. Viswa introduced him to Ram, and the opportunity arrived with warnings from others about the filmmaker’s demanding territory. Ram put him at ease simply by talking to him, reminding him that comedy was difficult work and giving him confidence in what he already knew. Vetrimaaran encouraged him too: working with Ram would teach him something different.

Nivin spoke warmly about returning to Tamil cinema, treating the idea of a comeback as a continuing responsibility towards audiences. “Personally, I feel every film is an attempt to make a comeback. So let this film also be my comeback to Tamil cinema,” he said.

For Anjali, the pleasure was in a substantial character and a co-star who kept surprising her. Nivin’s small changes of expression could transform a scene, she said, pushing her to find something fresh in response. They had been comfortable with each other from the first day, and the work became a healthy competition. She described Ram as a mentor, a well-wisher and someone who had been like a father to her, thanking him for the care he had given her character.

Her memories of Soori went back to a shoot in Courtallam, where the two took turns on the only treadmill and played cricket outside. His success felt personal to her. Soori, still enjoying the celebrations around Mandaadi, joked that he had been cutting a cake every day. Following the film’s recent success meet, he said he accepted the love with gratitude before turning to the next piece of work.

Madhan Karky offered a particularly lovely way of looking at Soori’s journey. Having been struck by his performance in Viduthalai, the lyricist questioned the familiar claim that Vetrimaaran had changed the actor. “He didn’t change Soori; he changed the way all of us look at Soori,” he said. The talent had been there; the audience’s perspective had shifted.

Karky also remembered Na. Muthukumar, whose collaborations with Ram he treasured. Sharing a stage with the director brought back the absence of the lyricist, he said. What he especially admired in Ram’s films was their love of nature and the different ways they found to celebrate the five elements.

Vetrimaaran traced his admiration for Ram back to Balu Mahendra. He remembered his mentor speaking with unusual emotion about a man who could tell stories beautifully. That man was Ram. Watching him narrate, Vetrimaaran said, could make him wish he possessed the same gift. Across Kattradhu Thamizh, Thanga Meengal and Peranbu, he saw a filmmaker whose stories had grown alongside the person telling them.

On the new film, Vetrimaaran praised the way Ram had rearranged and simplified the storytelling so that its emotion could reach viewers directly. He singled out the relationship between human sounds and those of another living creature as one of its distinctive qualities.

Parthiban’s tribute mixed affection with humour. He called Ram a filmmaker for whom cinema came before everything, and admired the seeming effortlessness of Nivin’s performances enough to coin “Nivin Pauly Polytechnic” for his acting technique. He praised Soori’s hard work and the warmth of his long voice-message replies to appreciation. The trailer’s mystery had drawn him in, he added, and he wanted to watch the film on its first day.

Suresh Kamatchi’s account began with a long-held wish to work with Ram. He had met him during Tharamani, but wondered then whether he had grown enough as a producer to take on such a collaboration. He credited Silambarasan and Venkat Prabhu with helping him reach a different place in his career. When Ram’s story came his way, he and S.J. Suryah heard it together. He liked the script, but the desire to make a film with its director was even stronger.

The producer said he had reassured Ram that he began a film only after arranging the resources to finish it, and that none of his shoots had stopped for lack of money. A fan of Nivin since Premam, he was delighted by the casting; Anjali, he recalled, agreed almost immediately. He would happily work with Ram on more films.

Ram returned that affection through the story of his friendship with Yuvan. Muthukumar had taken him to the composer for Kattradhu Thamizh, and Yuvan agreed before the narration had even reached half an hour. Ram said he would look elsewhere for music only if Yuvan declined, and confirmed that they would work together on his next film too.

Their trust also made room for composer Santhosh Dhayanidhi. Ram recalled Yuvan recommending Santhosh when a song was suddenly needed during Parandhu Po. On Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai, Ram had reworked the order and structure after an earlier version was complete. With Yuvan occupied by concerts when the music needed revisiting, he again suggested Santhosh. Ram spoke appreciatively of a composer secure enough to welcome another musician into his own film.

For Santhosh, sharing the occasion with Yuvan carried years of meaning. He had practised Yuvan’s songs on his first keyboard and studied them while learning music production. He remembered being a junior assistant at A.R. Rahman’s studio during Mariyaan, hoping for a chance to watch Yuvan sing. Now he was sharing a stage with the musician whose work had helped teach him.

Lyricist Mathi Pugazhenthi spoke about coming through the Agaram Foundation, joining Ram as an assistant and getting the opportunity to write a song for him. He credited the easy exchange of ideas with Santhosh for making the writing process comfortable. Anjali, meanwhile, picked the title song as her favourite, saying it brought back the feeling she had experienced listening to Paravaye Engirukkirai. For her, the Ram-Yuvan combination had always been magical.

Ram’s own description of the film brought the conversation back to the smallest of its co-stars. “Whether it is a rat, an elephant, a tree or even a blade of grass, everything is life. That is what the film is about.”

The team has also released a new trailer ahead of the theatrical opening.

Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai opens in cinemas on October 1, 2026.