The actors and their ‘role models’: Lakshmi Ramakrishnan (Kanimozhi) and Shantini Deva (Radia)

Chennai, July 11: When the film is on the telecom scam, no prizes for guessing the title.

2G Spectrum is now the title of a Tamil movie on the mega scandal that has claimed two DMK central ministers and sent a famous daughter to jail.

The shoot commenced yesterday and the actors who would play the real-life protagonists — MP Kanimozhi, former telecom minister A. Raja and corporate lobbyist Niira Radia — have already been identified.

While Kanimozhi, daughter of DMK chief M. Karunanidhi, is being portrayed by Lakshmi Ramakrishnan, known for playing mother to heroes and heroines in Tamil and Malayalam movies, the choice of muscleman Riyaz Khan, usually cast as a villain, to play the diminutive Raja is intriguing. Malaysian-born Tamil actress Shantini Deva is the director’s choice for Radia.

The actor who could play Dayanidhi Maran, the other minister who stepped down under the shadow of alleged telecom-related corruption, is yet to be finalised.

“I have not gone for resemblance but only those who were ready to play the roles and their skills,” director Johan Manohar said.

Manohar, who says the film will be about the deals behind the scandal and its real beneficiaries, registered the title after much difficulty and has also taken legal opinion about the script. “What attracted me was the mindboggling figure of loss caused by the scandal,” Manohar, who has also directed a Kannada movie, said.

Riyaz Khan who plays a character modelled on Raja

The comptroller and auditor general had estimated a presumptive loss of up to Rs 1.76 lakh crore because of fraudulent allotment of 2G licences, though the CBI has since pegged the loss to the exchequer at Rs 30,984.50 crore.

Asked if the DMK would be a silent spectator, the 47-year-old, who also edits a Tamil investigative weekly called Pulan Viasaranai, said he had overcome political challenges in the past. Lakshmi claimed she wasn’t worried about playing a controversial role modelled on a real-life accused. “I am an artiste and will act in any role the director casts me provided it is not defamatory,” she said.

He said he would be sympathetic to Kanimozhi’s plight as a mother separated from her young son and added no one would be portrayed as a villain.

For scenes from Tihar jail, where the accused are now lodged, Manohar would be using sets.

Manohar said borrowing from real-life events made for more gripping script. “Jessica and Not a Love Story are based on real-life events that strike an immediate chord with the audience due to their recall value. In the past, too, there has been a Tamil movie on Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination,” he pointed out. While No One Killed Jessica was based on the story of a Delhi-based model who was shot in a restaurant, Not a Love Story is about a gruesome murder.

To be released after six months, Manohar’s film will most probably coincide with the 2G trial. So the director has ensured that it wouldn’t touch on the legal ramifications of the scandal. “In fact, it will be a movie without the traditional climax since we are not certain what the court’s final verdict will be,” he said.