Here’s why producer S R Prabhu and director Nelson chose to make a film on rats!

Producer S R Prabhu, whose firm Potential Studios is known for making quality films like Maanagaram, is all set to release his next film titled Monster on May 18.

The film, which has been directed by Nelson of Oru Naal Koothu fame, has actors S J Suryah and Priya Bhavani Shankar playing the lead. Now, the film is a light-hearted family entertainer that revolves around a man who takes on a rat that ruins his peace of mind.

So, what would prompt a man to come up with such a story and why would another man look to produce such a film?

Well, the truth is both director Nelson and producer S R Prabhu have had bad experiences with rats.

While Nelson says the inspiration for Monster came because of an incident that happened in his life that left him sleepless for three nights, S R Prabhu says that one of the factors that led him to produce the film was an incident that occurred in his life as a boy.

“When I was a kid, my family had this practice of going to our native place to celebrate important festivals like Deepavali. One of the reasons why we looked forward to the festival was that we would be gifted new clothes for the occasion. The practice was that elders would buy our clothes well before the festival but they would not give it us until the day of the festival as we would otherwise want to try it on then and there. So, this one time, my parents bought a pair of jeans for me and kept it from me until the day of the festival. On Deepavali, they asked me to take a bath before giving me my clothes. I was super excited as I was presented the jeans. Those days, getting a pair of jeans meant a lot. Excitedly I went on to try it, only to find a portion of it missing! A portion of the jeans had been chewed off by rats! What had happened was my parents had bought the jeans and to keep it from my reach, hidden the new jeans in the loft until the day of the festival. Unfortunately, rats there had chewed off a portion of my new jean. I was in tears and from that day on, I have had an aversion for them,” the producer fumes.

So, it is only natural that when a director pitches a script on a guy taking on a rat to a producer who has a score to settle with them, it is likely to get made into a movie.

Simply speaking, the protagonist of this film (played by S J Suryah) is a devotee of Saint Vallalar and therefore cannot even harm an insect. However, a rat troubles him so much that he is compelled to come up with a plan to kill it. What he does is what the film is all about!