Nelson Dilipkumar reveals his favourite moments in Jailer: ‘Not just one, I have three…’

Mentioning that he had no prior experience in the film industry before becoming a filmmaker, Nelson attributed his learning to his extensive exposure to movies. He also revealed that Stanley Kubrick, Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino, Wes Anderson, Guy Ritchie, CV Sridhar, Mani Ratnam, and K Balachander were some of his favourite directors.

When inquired about whether his style is influenced by other filmmakers, Nelson responded, “I might have a lot of influences, but it’s not a conscious attempt to develop films that are comparable to the ones I enjoy. But there may be some influences here and there.”

Nelson Dilipkumar lists his favourite moments in Rajinikanth-starrer Jailer

Nelson Dilipkumar also pointed out that he has not just one but three favourite moments in Jailer. The director mentioned that his top choices were Rajinikanth slaughtering a rival’s head, the interval block and the shot where Superstar lights a cigarette in the climax.

Reflecting on his decision to depict the container falling and its doors opening and closing due to the impact, Nelson mentioned that he found it interesting to capture these moments from various angles. “So, we began with an extreme-wide shot, then transitioned to a medium shot, and finally moved in for a close-up. However, we never anticipated that people would take note of these details to such an extent. It brings us immense joy when people notice these technical aspects,” he added.

The director further revealed the most complicated sequence to shoot in Jailer. He said, “Every scene is usually complicated, but I would say the Rajasthan portion was physically tiring. There was a sniper fight sequence because of the hot climate and the sand storms. There was no phone signal. In that place, we had to assemble 250-300 people to shoot, which was difficult. We went to many live locations. Since we had Rajini sir, a lot of crowd needed to be controlled.”

Mohanlal and Shivarajkumar’s cameos in the film have been lapped up fans. On how he managed to do justice to all the characters, Nelson shared, “Jailer features a huge star cast, including Mohanlal, Shivarajkumar and Jackie Shroff. They come for fewer scenes yet have their own power and aura. So, their characters were written to match it. Thus, there was a natural balance when these actors did the specific roles. Since it was already in the script, it came out naturally.”

Emphasising on what makes Jailer unique and different from his previous ventures, Nelson said, “My previous projects had a good amount of comedy and entertainment elements. But, for Jailer, I felt that the mass elevation and emotional intensity for the protagonist should be more this time. So, Jailer was created by brining all such elements together at the centre.”

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