Crime writer Rajesh Kumar steps into OTT space with ‘Regai’

It is past 9pm erstwhile I dial transgression writer Rajesh Kumar’s number. The 77-year-old’s baritone sounds conscionable the aforesaid from erstwhile we spoke six years ago. “I spell to furniture lone astatine 12,” helium says, adding that helium writes till 11pm. Rajesh Kumar is the speech of the municipality successful the Tamil amusement satellite with web-series Regai, acceptable to premiere this week connected OTT level Zee5. It is based connected his caller Ulagai Vilaikael from the 1990s, which writer-director M Dhinakaran has further developed.

Regai forms the author’s archetypal OTT collaboration and helium is excited astir it. “I person achieved due designation for my enactment lone now,” feels Rajesh Kumar. “It is simply a aesculapian thriller, 1 that features an invisible crime.” His quaint Coimbatore location that has played big to him churning transgression caller aft caller for decades is present hosting video calls, Zoom meetings, telephone calls and visits from the movie radical implicit communicative ideas.

He sections clip for his assorted affairs, penning with subject each time from 9.30am. It is this subject that saw him done the implicit 1,500 transgression novels and his caller originative collaboration with Zee5. Tamil movie directors person agelong been reaching retired to Rajesh Kumar, with OTT platforms showing involvement implicit the past fewer years. His transgression stories, written with cinematic flair, are thought to beryllium a bully acceptable for the screen. However, helium says that respective discussions person been dropped implicit the standard of his stories.

Rajesh Kumar wonders if his novels would person reached the large surface sooner had helium lived successful Chennai. “I would’ve been much accessible then,” helium says. But helium maintains that his contiguous beingness — 1 that revolves astir his woman and his penning — is astir important. “I’ve moved past the signifier erstwhile I displacement to Chennai and beryllium done agelong movie discussions,” helium says. “My beingness is present [in Coimbatore] and my woman is much important to maine than thing else.”

After Regai, the writer is acceptable for further collaborations with Zee5. “Talks are connected to make my fashionable investigative characters Vivek, Rupella, and Vishnu,” helium says adding that Vivek volition marque for a spiffy detective connected the lines of Sherlock Holmes, with Vishnu playing his flirtatious assistant. Vivek, who is inspired by Rajesh Kumar’s “guru and relation model” Swami Vivekananda, has agelong held the fancy of Tamil movie makers. “There person often been debates astir which histrion volition play him,” helium says. “Will it beryllium Rajini, Kamal oregon Sarath Kumar? In the aboriginal years, they wondered if Vijay oregon Ajith volition beryllium a bully fit.”

But Rajesh Kumar feels that lone a new-comer volition beryllium capable to bash justness for the role, and is looking guardant to seeing Vivek travel live connected screen. Rajesh Kumar’s works, galore of which are based connected pseudoscience, person agelong amazed readers by predicting exertion and crimes that are unfolding for existent successful today’s world. Which possibly makes him 1 of the astir applicable Tamil transgression authors of our time.

He is present moving connected a caller based connected Artificial Intelligence. “Is AI bully oregon bad? What volition it bash for humanity?” helium asks, adding that his caller volition delve into the astir fashionable statement of today’s world. He recalls a scholar asking him astir the technology. “My reply to him was: what if AI cognition is thing planted by extra-terrestrials connected us? Perhaps they landed connected world galore years agone to intersperse among quality beings. Never halt questioning, ne'er halt speculating,” helium says, speaking similar a existent transgression writer. So, the adjacent clip you inquire thing to ChatGPT, maybe, conscionable maybe, determination is an alien connected the different side.

Regai drops connected Zee5 connected November 28.