‘RX 100’ and ‘Maha Samudram’ director Ajay Bhupathi is proud of his third film, ‘Mangalavaaram’, which is slated to hit the cinemas on November 17. In his latest interview, the director suggests that shocking characters and characterizations with gravitas are what matter the most. “The film has been made with top-notch commercial values. As a character-based film (with 30 consequential characters), this one comes with a contemporary edge. The climax is its ultimate element. It is not easy to direct such a film,” remarks the director. When he ideated ‘Mangalavaaram’, nothing else occupied his mind until he wrote the complete script. “Once an idea takes birth in my mind, I engage with it passionately. Come what may, I don’t budge. I develop it consummately. When I started writing the script of ‘Mangalavaaram’, I could comprehend its range. Eventually, the budget came to Rs 20 Cr. That was expected because of the non-stop outdoor shoots,” the director says. While saying that Payal Rajput’s character will shock the audience, Bhupathi strikes a balancing note when he suggests that it is not just about her violent streak or something. “As the audience walk out of the hall, they will be left with feelings of sympathy for Payal’s character. Even though ‘Mangalavaaram’ is fiction, the ideas and the slice-of-life characters make it feel like real life,” the director says. Ajaneesh B Loknath of ‘Kantara’ fame, audiographer MR Rajakrishnan’s sound design and the locations will stand out in the movie, he adds.