Movie Machine

On the contrary,we finished before time. I had done a pre-visualisation,an animated feature,like the way Hollywood does,so that we could look at the scenes and do them accordingly. This saved us time. We did all the complicated scenes in the beginning,so they would have enough time for post-production.

You have been a stalwart in the Tamil film industry for years now. When were you bitten by the filmmaking bug?

I’m a diploma engineer and worked as a quality control supervisor at a factory. When our factory went on strike,I joined theatre and worked as a writer-performer. Soon after,I started assisting director S A Chandrasekhar and later Pavithran. After assisting on nearly 20 films,I knew I could make my own.

Back then,did you think you would make it this far?

Not at all. I always thought I would make it big in the engineering industry.

You are known for shooting at locations that haven’t been shown before. You shot at the Seven Wonders in Jeans and for Robot,you have shot in Machu Pichu in Peru. On what basis do you select your locations?

I travel with my characters and tap their imagination about the kind of places they would want to be in or dream of.

Has it been tough for you to persuade producers and distributors to invest in your unconventional storylines?

No. Whenever I go to them with a story,they know it is going to be something totally different. So they are prepared for it. Now that my films have done well all over,they are comfortable with me doing such films.

Most of your films,like Jeans,Kadhalan,Nayak – The Real Hero,Indian,Sivaji – The Boss,have been Bollywood hits as well.

Do you believe your filmmaking sensibilities match that of Bollywood?

I don’t work on specialised genres. I make films on the common man. Everyone from Kanyakumari to Kashmir can relate to a common man.

Why,then,haven’t you made more films in Bollywood?

I did Nayak,which was in Hindi and Tamil. Also,Robot was suppose to be a Hindi film starring Kamal Haasan and Preity Zinta. We started work on it in 2000 alongside Nayak,but then I found it difficult to do two movies simultaneously. When I finished Nayak,Kamal sir had some date problems and the project never took off. We then started work on it in 2008 with the present star cast.

With your films doing well globally,especially Anniyan,is there a conscious effort to target foreign audiences?

I don’t target any set of audiences. I make a film and leave it at that. If it is good,people will watch it. A few of my films have done well in Mumbai,a few in the North and a few others,world over.

Would you ever want to try your hand at experimental cinema?

I joined the industry with the hope of making offbeat films. When there were no takers,I switched to commercial films,which I have really come to enjoy. But I produce offbeat films.

With most of your scripts being very demanding,do you take a break after each of your films?

I take a break after each film because I need to clear up my hard disk (my brain) and start afresh.

Milestones

Gentleman (1993):

His directorial debut was a huge hit in the South and was remade in Hindi.

Indian (1996) and Jeans (1998): Both were India’s official entries to the Oscars.

Anniyan (2005):

The first Tamil film to be dubbed in French.

Veyil (2006):

His production won a National Award for Best Feature Film

in Tamil.