When two of Atlee’s films Raja Rani and Theri were super successful, the Tamil film industry hailed him as a director who doesn’t disappoint and can pull off any top combination of actors with great balance and ensure returns for his producers. His third film Mersal starring Vijay is setting the cash registers ringing too but the not-so-good news is, it is doing so with some unwanted attention. A comment on GST in the climax portion of the film drew political ire and the Tamil film fraternity has been rallying around the film’s team in support.
Director Atlee and team are pleased to take a small break from all the action in Chennai to promote Mersal (to release as Adhirindi in Telugu) in Hyderabad but one can’t help notice the trepidation on his face. We are told much ahead that he doesn’t want to answer controversial questions, particularly the GST episode.
Talking about his second project with Vijay, the first being Theri , he says, “Vijay is like a brother and I love him very much. We both know what people expect from him and we worked on it. We started shoot in February, completed it in August and released it in October. It has been a year and a half since we totally got involved with it, worked 18 hours a day. I badly need two months off before I can think of getting back to work.”
Tell him that Adhirindi is a right title for Mersal and he is glad; he has also worked on his ability to speak in Telugu and tells us confidently that the next conversation will be in Telugu. He recollects, “From a long time, I had this title in mind. Whenever I speak to Telugu people and ask how a particular film was, they would always say ‘ adhirindi sir, adhiripoyindi ’. It was strong and I remember even in the Telugu version of Sivaji , the word is used frequently; so to replace Mersal in Telugu, I couldn’t have thought of anything better. Soon after the title was announced in the media, I got many calls and people said it was perfect. I felt I was on the right track. I can understand Telugu when someone speaks. I see Telugu films. By next year I should be able to speak the language well.”
There has been an observation that Atlee’s sub plots are picked from various films, including Adhirindi to which he has a ready answer, probably he has faced this question many a time. He quips, “It is a fictional film; I suppose this answers your question. Even Kamal sir watched the film and retorted... who said Mersal resembles Apoorva Sagodharargal ? People come up with good references but the fact is that I am showing a current issue. This (corruption in the medical system) is happening around us and every individual has a perception and I can’t keep answering all of them. If a father is killed and sons are taking revenge, then it is a template story. I am more concerned about what my film says; if my producer and distributors are getting their money and if people are being entertained, I will get to do my next film.”
So will he choose to discuss in the next film and how did he rope in Vadivelu for Mersal ? “It will be about something happening around you. What I want to say in my next film defines my next subject. In Theri it was about women’s safety, my next film too will have an issue and as a creator one should not just entertain, we should be saying something to the people. In Mersal , I wanted to cast Vadivelu with Vijay. I told him that his portion will be short. He was okay with it. I told him it isn’t an out and out comedy and he was fine with it. About the leading ladies, Nithya’s portion is the emotional crux; you will connect with her part immediately. The others (Kajal and Samantha) are cute; their contribution to the story is entertainment. You laugh and move on.”
We prod him to speak on his favourite part in the film and he says it’s the flashback portion. It’s his all-time favourite. He signs off, “Whatever you do, if the story has no soul, you can’t push the film. Even if you spend crores on a soul-less film it won’t work but a good film will go places.”
