Twin brothers in Chennai work behind the scenes to put talent centerstage

CHENNAI: Once upon a black-and-white time, you had Pappi and Lalli (Kuzhandaiyum Deivamum) work mischief to unite their estranged parents.

Then Appu and Raja (Apoorva Sagodharargal) came together to avenge their murdered father. Viswanathan and Ramamoorthy (Jeans), besides attempting to find love (sorry Ramu), found time to assist with the family business, save the life of a stranger, take breezy vacations even while studying medicine.

Then, there was Deva and Shiva (Vaali) falling for the same woman and attempting to kill each other for her. Wait, wrong example. While the silver screen has provided space for the stories of many twins, here are two brothers — Arun and Aravind — working behind the screens to put many an aspiring face to these tales.

Creative streak

What began as simply a means to stay put with the twin in a field of work that offered a good vent to their creative streak, has now turned into a casting agency — Twin Heart Entertainment — that has left its mark in the highly competitive arena.

"Onna poranthutom, onnave irukanum enra plan dhan (We were born together, we have decided to stay together),” says Aravind, while Arun provides him with quick prompts from time to time. “Like how some people have keywords written down to work through questions, Aravind has a walking-talking keyword generator in me," quips Arun.

"We stuck together through college (dilpoma) — same class, same bench, same arrears. It was when we went for a job that we had to go in different directions. Working in different branches of TVS Motors, it was the first time we were separated. Our circle of friends was starting to get different too. After two years, we decided to do something about it. We went back to college for an engineering course and ventured into media soon after," he explains.

The journey

Since 2011, their journey in the world of television has been quite the rollercoaster ride. The brothers have managed to dabble in many corners of the production province. You’ve probably even noticed them on-screen (think Airaa). But where they stand out is bringing the human component to mass-produced entertainment.

"When we entered the industry, we wanted to find an area of deficiency and see if our talent could help fill the need there. That was when we realised that there was no one to handle the humans involved in the many stages of production. We decided to support this element. This was the time when a TV show was shot with junior artistes as a live audience. Everyone was programmed to clap and cheer to everything. We brought in real people for these shows," narrates Aravind.

Their adventures as casting directors began with Vijay TV’s Kalakka Povathu Yaaru. It was not without its problems. Producers were not all that pleased when the audience did not laugh out loud to every performer. It took a while before they held the show’s content responsible for it.

But soon enough, the shows got better and people’s interest in them grew proportionally, he says. "It was then that the producers realised the worth of a standing ovation. We started our work in 2015. By mid-2016, we had 15 shows in our hand. All from the success of the first one," he says.

Tailor-made career

While working with a twin does have its benefits — for one, it helps them stand out among so many others in the industry simply because producers and directors remember them as ‘the twins’, it is not without its many problems, says Aravind. "We do have fights but at the end of the day, we focus on the result. We also play to our strengths. I am good at talking, Arun works a lot — naan sol, avan seyal. So I make the plans and he executes them," he explains.

Finding love

Like the many on-screen stories they have worked for, the twins’ stories of love too is quite cinemaesque. They married women who have been friends since their kindergarten years. They did not wed on the same stage but came close enough. They lined up their birthdays and their wedding days (one after another with a common reception party) for a week-long affair.

It is not just the brothers but their partners too stick with each other through the highs and lows of regular life. And this is a life they worked hard to make true, says Arun. "We were born together, might as well stick together — be it work or family. Even if I were to rob someone, I would drag him to spend life in jail with me. The big confidence that we get is when I am in trouble, there is someone next to me. This kind of support is what many people do not have today. They do not know if they can count on their friends for support," he explains.

What started as a two-man enterprise now employs 20 others. The brothers hope to take their work to every corner of the entertainment business. They draw inspiration from the life of their late father, Raja Mahendran. During his time as the all-India secretary of the Red Cross Society, he had been instrumental in building a free blood bank in Thanjavur.

The boys had grown up watching so many people coming to him in times of trouble. It was when he passed away that they got to know that their father had not left them with much money but earned them a lot of people and their goodwill. Far from just following the way of their father, they have taken it to many others too — motivating them to look at life in terms of the people they earn. And they have a lot left to do.

Building a career

From Vijay TV, Arun and Aravind moved to other channels too and eventually, behind the big screen. While they already have shows like Bigg Boss, Adhu Idhu Edhu, Enkitta Mothathae to their credit (as reality show organisers), they now have movies like 96, Acham Enbathu Madamaiyada and Dora (as casting directors) under their belt too. Through all this, the brothers have stuck together and managed to build a career that is tailor-made to their needs.