Bejoy Nambiar has pulled off a casting coup by roping in Vijay Sethupathi, Prakash Raj and Revathi for his segment in Navarasa. But for the director, the highlight of the Netflix anthology is collaborating with his idol Mani Ratnam. “Makarand Deshpande once told me that one should be careful about working with their idols. Since you have grown up watching them, working with them may ruin the illusion of greatness. I have been fortunate as I haven’t experienced that. Getting the opportunity to work with Mani sir is a privilege,” says the director, who has gone behind the camera to narrate the story of Edhiri. With the nine tales in the anthology examining varied human emotions, his short film focuses on compassion.

If he had one of the greatest auteurs in Indian cinema serving as the presenter-producer, Nambiar considers himself grateful to have an equally talented cast breathe life into his story. Such was Sethupathi’s involvement in the material that he went beyond the call of duty to write dialogues for certain sequences.

“Vijay Sethupathi and I sat together and rewrote the dialogues for several scenes. Revathi ma’am’s last monologue was written by him. His contribution to the script has been credited in the film. It surprises me how much actors invest in their performances. His [suggestions] have improved many scenes.” The project is the South Indian film industry’s attempt to raise funds for the fraternity members who were hit hard due to the pandemic.