He came into Tamil cinema in 2014 with Pannaiyarum Padminiyum, which won numerous awards and made him a director to watch out for. He followed it up with Sethupathi, Sindhubaadh and Chithha, but it is director SU Arun Kumar’s latest flick which has brought him into the limelight like never before. (Also Read | Sivakarthikeyan watches Veera Dheera Sooran with Vikram as it finally releases in theatres after legal hurdles. Watch)
He has delivered a blockbuster with his recent Veera Dheera Sooran: Part 2 starring Chiyaan Vikram, SJ Suryah, Suraj Venjaramoodu and Dushara Vijayan. In this exclusive chat with Hindustan Times, the 5 Rupees short film director talks about his successes and failures and reveals that 80 per cent of his stories are inspired by true incidents.
Your versatility is quite evident as each of your five films has been different in terms of the subject.
Yes, I like to shift from genre to genre because that’s a challenge for me and also my comfort zone. I don’t want to make the same type of film twice. If I have to do that, I need to be a master of that genre, and I know I can’t do it. I also feel I’ll end up getting cornered writing in the same genre.
A lot of people commented that Vikram has had a big hit after so many years. How does it feel to hear people say that?
To be honest, the response to Veera Dheera Sooran has been overwhelming. However, I don’t look at it like that. Whether it has been my flops or Vikram sir’s flops, we have worked on each of the films with utmost sincerity. Eventually, it ends up in failure and only post that do we know what went wrong in the film. There’s a big learning from the film and we then proceed to the next project. But I’m happy to hear people say that Veera Dheera Sooran is a big hit for Vikram because, for me, this movie has to run and be successful for Vikram, sir. He is such a humble human being and even after doing more than 62 films, he still treats every film like his first film.
Given the appreciation you’ve had from the industry and audience right from your first film, do you think you’re still an underrated director in Kollywood?
(Laughs) Thank you! Most of the people say this to me but I love to be in a cage where I’m hidden from the world. But I knew that after Veera Dheera Sooran people will become very familiar with me. You are right when you say that because I am not recognized either as a commercially successful director or as a sensible director – I’ve thought about this often but I didn’t take it seriously. I felt maybe I should make better films. When people praise Pannaiyarum Padminiyum and my directorial skills after 11 years, I feel upset because I thought they could have praised me then when the film was released. I never got the adulation which I really wanted for that film. A director’s first film is personal and closest to his heart for his lifetime. When Pannaiyarum Padminiyum released in 2014 and didn’t do well, it took me a long time to get over its failure in theatres. But today, I get over my films really quickly and move on to the next project. A lot of things don’t really affect me as much now.
Do you think Sindhubaadh (2019), which flopped badly, was a miscalculation on your part?
That film taught me what not to do. I pushed myself to the next level in terms of scale in Sindhubaadh as I wanted to get into the so-called ‘creamy layer’. The movie was not just a commercial failure but nobody liked the film. I learnt that we shouldn’t try to make a big film on a large scale just for the sake of it but focus on making good cinema. My personal life was also shattered at the time, so there were numerous issues going on at the same time, unfortunately.
Will you push yourself to make say a ₹200 crore film now?
We should try and do what we are good at. And I keep repeating that to myself. You take Kamal Haasan sir or Chiyaan Vikram sir for instance – they never gave up despite their failures. Movies like Anbe Sivam and Viurumaandi are being hailed as great cinema today but at that time, they didn’t do well in theatres. Kamal Haasan still kept trying and continues to experiment with films. Sometimes what we try doesn’t work out but the important thing is we tried.
I won’t push myself to make a big movie – I’ll never do that. For Veera Dheera Sooran, for instance, I just had the story, and it wasn’t written as a big-budget film. It became big once Chiyaan Vikram came on board. I strongly feel the core story is important. If you want to make a big film then you need to write it as a big film from the start. Sometimes we ourselves spoil the story by adding unnecessary elements.
How did Vikram come on board for this film?
He loved Chithha, and he told me that he wanted a Sethupathi in Chithha style of making. That was the mindset I was in. I thanked him for saying that and left. We were on the same page from day one, and this rarely happens. When I wrote the initial script for the film, it wasn’t with him in mind. But when he came on board, I felt this was going to be a different film for Vikram for sure.
What is the next genre you want to work on?
I want to do a love story in the near future. I’ve written the first half of the story, and it’ll be really different. The romantic aspect seeps in unconsciously into my scripts like in Veera Dheera Sooran. When Vikram sir tells my family that I’m a really romantic person, they all stare at me like, ‘Who is this person?’ (Laughs) Even if you do the same genre, the casting and the world you create should be different. And if it’s the same actor, then a different genre. For instance, if I work with Vikram sir again, I’d like to do a love story or a comedy with him.
