Arun Vaidyanathan has been surrounded by strong women all his life — his mother, friends and wife. He’s seen them as achievers, as people who command respect. That’s why he can never write a female character who just waltzes around trees and walks in and out of a scene without purpose.
Like his first film Achchamundu! Achchamundu! and his Malayalam movie Peruchazhi , Nibunan ( Vismaya in Kannada), which is to also be dubbed into Telugu as Kurukshetra , will feature women with self-worth.
After a psychological thriller and a satire, Arun returns to the thriller genre with this film, which happens to be actor Arjun’s 150th as well. “I’m a huge fan of thrillers. Basically, of anything that makes the audience think,” he says.
Time for Action
With Nibunan , the filmmaker has tried making a thriller rooted in reality. That might be why Arun is certain this will be ‘different’ — though lead actor Arjun has played a cop before. “You’ve mostly seen him as ‘Action King’. Here, he plays a cop investigating a crime; he does get into action mode, but only when necessary.”
Arun zeroed in on Arjun to play Ranjith Kalidass, impressed with the actor’s oeuvre. “Ranjith is a good father and husband, a good brother, colleague, someone with a sense of humour. Arjun was perfect; he offers much as an actor.”
The film also stars Prasanna, the hero in Arun’s Achchamundu! …. Varalaxmi, Vaibhav and Sruthi Hariharan are part of the cast too. “Varu is a cop; she’s a tomboy and a bookworm. She works with Prasanna and they share a Tom and Jerry-style relationship. Sruthi, who plays Arjun’s wife, is an abstract painter.”
Some of these characters are distinctly non-filmi. How easy has it been for someone born in Sirkazhi, and who worked in the US, to convince people he’s not elitist? “I’ve been lucky. I think there’s always a reception for good writing. It just depends on whom you speak to and what kind of story you wish to narrate.”
Arun is a hands-on director but does not believe in dictating every emotion. “I narrate the mood of the scene, and allow the actors to work it out in their own style.” Arjun was told Ranjith would be ‘part Arjun and part Arun’. “In some movies, every actor imitates the director. I don’t believe in that; I stop with working on rehearsals and editing their action.”
Branching out
Nibunan/Vismaya largely retains the cast for both languages, but the antagonist is different. “Arjun and Sruthi know Tamil and Kannada. Prasanna was given a bound script so he could prepare.” The film, which also stars Suman and Suhasini, took about six months of pre-production.
Once Nibunan releases, Arun will move on to his next project. “I want to make a don film and another that looks like a Disney production.”
It helped that Arun was part of the production team too — Passion Studios is run by Arun, Umesh, Sudhan Sundaram and Jayaram. “A good producer makes a good product. I’ve been creative producer with Kalyana Samayal Saadham and know what it entails. I protected the director and the script. There should be sensibility along with sense.”
