Director A R Murugadoss is a man of few words. He keeps it short, sweet, simple and answers every question with a smile. In an exclusive chat with IndianExpress.com, this soft-spoken filmmaker talks about his upcoming next, Akira. What does Akira mean? Akira means strong and pure. The word has its origin in Sanskrit Akira is the remake of Tamil film Mouna Guru. What excited you about the original film that you decided to remake it in Hindi? I loved Mouna Guru's screenplay. I found it interesting and gripping at the same time and decided to remake it. Why didn't you ask the director of Mouna Guru Kumar Santha to direct it? I initially wanted to produce the remake in Hindi and had contacted Santha too asking him to direct the Hindi one. But he was busy with other projects and was not keen to do a Hindi remake. That's strange as not many would say no to directing a Hindi film with A-list Bollywood actors. There are some directors who are not keen on directing the same subject twice. But Santha was happy with the idea of it being made in Hindi. Mouna Guru had a male protagonist but in Akira the protagonist is a female. Why? I though if you have a girl as a protagonist in the same screenplay, the same emotions in the story would become more powerful. Hence we made it woman-centric. What made you feel Sonakshi Sinha would be perfect for this role? Sonakshi has very good eyes, attitude and believability. I have known her for long now and I knew she would be 100 percent correct for the role. I am also sure audience will accept her in this role too. She has also worked hard to get into the skin of the character. She trained in kickboxing and mixed martial arts. She trained under Tiger Shroff's trainer for four to five months. Why did you cast Anurag Kashyap? We were looking for somebody who is a fresh face for Hindi audience but at the same time a known figure. My casting director Suruthi suggested Anurag Kashyap. I have always been a fan of his films but had never thought about him as an actor. However Suruthi said given his height and voice, he would be a perfect match for the character. We met, narrated the story to him and he liked it and was on board. Was it easy directing a director? He is a mature actor. On the first day, I didn't know how to get the right performance out of him. The next day, however, we broke the ice by speaking about films and became friends. It became a breeze directing him after that day. Does Akshay Kumar have a cameo in Akira? No. Akshay Kumar doesn't have a cameo. He is not there in the film. Tell us about your childhood? Were you always interested in films? The town in Tamil Nadu where I was born had only two theatres then.That was the only source of entertainment. We used to go regularly to watch films in theatres. And we were fascinated as kids seeing the entire set up. It was like magic for us. From a small hole, light used to beam on a white screen and MGR, Sivaji Ganeshan and all other legends used to arrive. That kept us hooked. My interest in films started from that time. I then started to writing short stories in magazines. I later applied in Madras film institute but was rejected as they had only 10 seats and there was reservation with only communities getting in. The selection was random and not based on rules or marks. Later on, I started as a writer and graduated into an assistant director and then finally director. Did you ever dream of making it big even in Bollywood? No, not this big but I remember in an interview one big director asked me what I wanted to do in film industry? I told him I want to do films in all languages. What's happening to your film with Salman Khan? We have been planning it for some time now. But it is not happening. Sometimes he likes a script but I don't and vice versa. Both our tastes have to match. Would you direct him in a remake? No. I want to make something original. I don't want to direct Salman in a remake. I want to present him in a nice, surprising way to Tamil audience. They love Salman in South? Oh yes. He is huge there too. Akshay Kumar became the first Hindi superstar to go down South to star in a Tamil film. Why are our other superstars not seen doing south cinema? Actors should try and only Akshay has tried till now. Hindi actors should learn the body language of South Indians and what we like in cinema. They can't come flying and do films there. It is not easy. Just like how heroines have learnt the language, heroes should too. But then again there is no need for them to try because they already have a huge market here. May be that is why they are not quite keen. Who among the younger lot in Bollywood do you find promising and would like to work with? Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh and Tiger Shroff are the most promising. I would like to collaborate with them in future.
