Varisu director Vamshi Paidipally: ‘Vijay has a humongous fan following, we need to cater to them…’

When asked what the audience expects from a Vijay film, the Varisu director said, “They want wholesome entertainment, not one kind of perspective, keeping them engrossed through dance, comedy, emotion or through character elevations. Entertainment means to keep them engaged—the way the want to watch Thalapathy Vijay sir.”

Vamshi Paidipally explained in detail how he had to layer the story of Varisu and match it to the audience’s expectations, as the film stars Vijay. The director said, “Now I have to tell this story and not deprive any element that the audience expects from him (Vijay). We start layering it. Once I know you are in, that’s where a commercial director comes in, matching this and getting the blend. Whatever I narrated to Vijay in the first line, that never changed—-you have to keep that intact as that’s where he got into the film. But we also have to give the whistle podu moments.” Paidipally also promised that the audience will see Vijay’s arc—from ‘vintage’ Vijay to Thalapathy. “He doesn’t come to do just action, there’s a certain way he does it. We need to deliver what fans expect. He’s a larger-than-life persona, and people watch him with that kind of feel.”

Varisu also features Rashmika Mandanna and will clash with Ajith’s Thunivu on January 11. Earlier, producer Dil Raju stirred controversy amongst the two stars’ fan base as he said that Vijay was a bigger star than Ajith. In an interview with a Telugu channel, he had said, “In Tamil Nadu, Ajith sir’s film is coming out with my film. In Tamil Nadu, Vijay sir is the number 1 star. Everybody knows that. There are 800-odd screens in the state and I’m begging them to give me more than 400 screens. I’m requesting at least 50 more screens. This is business. Even though I have a big film, I have to beg for screens. It’s not a monopoly, right?”