Mari Selvaraj on Vadivelu: ‘In Maamannan, he suffers like he always does, but I have changed how we react to it’

Director Mari Selvaraj mentioned that when choosing Vadivelu for this particular character, he drew a connection between the actor and the innocence portrayed in his roles, which resonated with memories of his own father.

“I have always associated him—and the innocence in his roles—with my appa (father). You will see that my films will always speak of the parent-child relationship. I cannot imagine a story which doesn’t explore this relationship. At a time when I had no friends, no social life, my appa and amma travelled with me, protected me, ensured that I didn’t get into trouble… I didn’t realise this at the time, but now, I see that they have always radiated majesty,” Mari recalled during a conversation with Cinema Express. The Mari Selvaraj flick stars Vadivelu, Udhayanidhi Stalin, Fahadh Faasil and Keerthy Suresh in the lead roles.

“As a child, I kept asking why my appa, who was a therukoothu kalaignar, wasn’t like other fathers, but I now realise that when my parents protected me at the cost of coming across as meek, they were being braver beyond my imagination. So, you will know how much it means to me that Vadivelu plays a version of my father. Think about the comedy tracks that he has done. He suffers, he cries, he gets beaten up, he gets neglected and trampled, he’s isolated… His reactions, however, make us laugh. I have always seen him as one of us, a common man at the receiving end of injustice.”

“In Maamannan, he suffers like he always does, but I’ve changed how we react to it,” Mari added.

Referring to the shot showing Udhayanidhi Stalin holding a piglet at the end of the trailer, Mari Selvaraj said, “The pig is probably the most insulted creature in our society. I love it a lot; my family has raised pigs. I grew up hurting from the realisation that people branded us for raising pigs. People brand you based on the animals you co-exist with. They attach their opinion about a pig to their opinion about someone who raises it. The pig, like all other animals, is a regal, far-from-docile creature in the wild. We tamed, controlled and eradicated the true qualities of many animals for our benefit—and now, we insult them for being pale versions of what they once were. For me, the eyes of different animals speak volumes. That’s why I use them a lot in my cinema—be it the dog in Pariyerum Perumal or the donkey in Karnan. Maamannan is, in fact, a story about pigs.”

When asked how he tackles the dismissal of his works by certain persons who label them as ‘caste cinema’, Mari said, “Each person has their own prism through which they experience art. I shouldn’t forget that I too was prone to simplistic conclusions, that I too experienced films through their stars, that I too fought over actors and flung stones at theatre screens. Patience is paramount when you make the films I make. If Pariyerum Perumal and Karnan transformed only a dozen people, that’s quite all right. Perhaps ten years later, that number might increase. If certain sections dismiss my cinema without acknowledging its craft value, I must process it as a challenge. I must learn to make my art more accessible. I must put in more work to win over my detractors.”