It’s never easy for filmmakers to pick themselves up after a box-office failure. However, three years since the release of his love story Aval Peyar Thamizharasi , Meera Kathiravan has returned with Vizhithiru , a thriller set in the gullies of Chennai. The entire film unfolds in the dead of the night.
What made the director turn the spotlight on Chennai’s city night life? “I was intrigued how the night life in Chennai belonged to the very rich and the very poor. Vizhithiru will feature characters who own the night in the city,” he says. “There is a rich couple that thinks it can buy everything, there is a slum girl, and there is a father and his daughter… The film will reflect the diverse set up of the city.” While the film is set in Chennai, Meera Kathiravan says it is not a film about the city. “Chennai has changed so much due to a surge in economic activities. It has a multi-cultural character to it, and that is why the story is set in Chennai,” he says.
Meera Kathiravan has roped in director Venkat Prabhu to play a crucial role in the film. “I like some of the films he has acted in.”
What are the important lessons he has learnt in this industry? “Even a few years ago, a director who came up with a good film would be appreciated, even if the film flopped. These days, the fate of a filmmaker is decided in the first three days of the film’s release.”