Your next release Solo is not just a bi-lingual. It is also an anthology film with multiple storylines and recurring characters. By how many times did your efforts multiply as a result?
Yo u don't realise it until you get down to doing it. It all sounded pretty clear on paper and easy to do, but it’s not at all easy. Each time I do it, I think ‘never again’.
Did you think the same when you completed David ?
The problem with David was that the thought of making it into a bi-lingual happened later. It was not approached like a bilingual. Solo , though, was conceived as a bi-lingual.
Solo has four storylines and you’ve used 11 music directors and three cinematographers to make it. But you still call it a mainstream film.
That’s true. Even though there are so many stories, they’re all mainstream and relatable. It’s just the format and narrative that’s different.
Even so, this is a script you pitched to Dulquer, a mainstream star. Would it have been possible without such a star?
I’m happy the mindset of some of the Malayalam stars is to support a different kind of cinema. They’re not looking just at ‘what works’. As long there are stars like that, there will be filmmakers who will try to push the envelope.
When you plan a bi-lingual, what are the additions that come into such a project... at least in terms of budget?
The only reason we were able to scale up the production was because it was being made in Tamil as well. The truth is, there is a limitation to how much you can invest into a Malayalam film. Making it into Tamil gave us the freedom to make it the way it was envisioned. If it was Malayalam alone, it would have been three stories instead of four.
It helped that you got a star that sells in two states.
So why not use him here, right?
Will you recommend the bi-lingual format to other filmmakers?
Only if they have the patience for it.
As an anthology, are you expecting people to have favourites?
Yes I am. A friend of mine told me that as long as people like two of four stories, I’ve done my job! The audience loves picking favourites.
All your films operate with an indie spirit. Yet you’ve stuck to making mainstream films.
My wife keeps asking me if my struggle will ever end, because we kill ourselves to make our films. The struggle just keeps increasing because that’s the kind of stories I want to tell. In that sense, I guess I’ll always be an outsider and I have accepted that. It’s better to fight for the films I believe in rather than making films others want you to make.
Aren’t the risks bigger, though?
Th at’s why a film like Solo , if it works, will open new doors. I know for a fact that I couldn’t have pitched Solo in Hindi. The fact that I could make it here speaks volumes. There has been anthology films in Malayalam before but not one where the same actor has played the protagonist across stories. It’s such a kick to know that.
When you say four stories, are they connected by something common?
Somewhere during the writing process, we came down to four stories and stuck to it. As we fleshed out the screenplay, we arrived at he four elements as a common thread. Fire, earth, wind and water...that brought everything together.
Were these elements weaved in at an early stage?
Of course. We got these elements to be a part of the story itself. It’s not in your face... we’ve not used title cards that name elements but it’s part of the narrative. For instance, in the water story, water becomes a character. But we haven’t done that with the fire story. We’ve used fire more visually, where it’s more visceral.
But it’s still only 30 minutes per story right? Is that enough time to develops the arcs?
We arrived at a rhythm upfront. These are stories that will not work if they are stretched.
As someone who makes films in many languages, does an idea for a film have a language?
A good story works in any language. Think about the Mahabharatha ... doesn’t matter which language you say it in, it will still be great.
What language do you write in?
I think in English so I write in English. In Solo , I had three writers working with me with separate writers for Tamil and Malayalam.
Does that change things by all that much?
A beat in the scene, how a scene is constructed, everything changes. The difference between the two is something you realise on the editing table. Dulquer is great help is pointing out these differences. He is internalising both the languages, so he was able to tell me when something is working in one language and not in the other.
Something that’s often said about your work, sometimes in praise and sometimes as a complaint, is how beautiful they are...
(La ughs) I don’t think that’s a crime. As long as your story manages to communicate, the visuals are just a tool. But having said that, I work with fantastic DOPs who enhance my work.
As someone with a keen aesthetic eye, do you think our films lack in the craft side of filmmaking?
In terms of craft, I feel very few filmmakers try new things here. Sometimes, our craft is so limited that we hail a film that’s even slightly better. With access to the best in the world, we have to compete with that.
How much can one relate your aesthetic style with that of Mani Ratnam, with whom you worked as an assistant director?
He was the only director I ever wanted to work with. Actually, when I was in college, I had a list of three directors I wanted to work with but Mani sir was always on top.
Who were the others?
Mukul Anand, Ram Gopal Varma and Priyadarshan. Of course, if Padmarajan was alive I would have knocked on that door. But I kept trying to work with Mani sir through this phase but I couldn’t even make it to the interview stage. I made a short film and that was how I got an interview with him. I still am a true-blue fanboy of his.
Is that why you went back to him for Kaatru Veliyidai ?
I’ll keep going back to him even now.
