Sai Pallavi’s look in 'Om' inspired by IPS officer Merin Joseph, reveals Rajkumar Periasamy

Sai Pallavi, who was recently seen in the Hindi epic drama ‘Ramayana’ will play a police officer in the upcoming Tamil film ‘Om’ starring Dhanush and Mammootty. Interestingly, this is the first time that the actress, who shot to fame with the Malayalam movie ‘Premam’, has donned a police uniform for a movie. Meanwhile, the film’s director Rajkumar Periasamy, in a recent interview, revealed that Merin Joseph IPS, police officer of the Kerala cadre, was the inspiration behind Sai Pallavi’s look and character in the movie.
Sai Pallavi appears as Nithya Reddy IPS, assistant superintendent of Andhra Pradesh police and an additional CBI SP who works with the Interpol to bring down the sandalwood smuggling mafia.

“Sai Pallavi is playing a unique role in this movie. When I approached her with the role, she said she wanted to read the screenplay before saying yes. It took her almost six days to read the entire screenplay as she was busy shooting for other movies. One day, she called me and said, “Sir, I want to do this movie. If you are sure that I could pull off this role, then I am 100 percent ready. Moreover, I really liked this character.”

She kept asking a lot of questions and even met a few IPS officers while preparing for the role. There is an officer called Meri Joseph IPS in Kerala, whose story itself is quite impressive. She was our reference for Sai Pallavi in the movie as we didn’t want the character to have a stereotypical look or appear weaker. Sai Pallavi needed to build a trust in the character first. So, she met a few police officers to study their traits and understand their working style. Sai Pallavi was completely prepared and ready to essay the role when she came on the sets,” Rajkumar Periasamy said.

‘Om: Chapter One’ promises to treat the audience to a unique cinematic experience with ample doses of suspense and thrill. From the announcement of the project to the first look posters and the trailer, the movie has managed to create curiosity and intrigue among the audience. ‘Om’ that boasts of an impressive crew of talented artists and technicians is reportedly a thriller – mystery drama.