It’s been 13 years since director Santhakumar’s debut film Mouna Guru was released. After helming Magamuni in 2019, he is now back with Rasavathi, starring Arjun Das, Tanya Ravichandran, Sujith Sankar and Reshma Venkatesh. “There was a break between my first and second films but for the third one, the lockdown is to be blamed. My next will not take this long,” assures the filmmaker as we speak about Rasavathi, incidentally, in a preview theatre.
Santhakumar, in an earlier interview, had said his research for a film includes a lot of reading material and binging on similar content. “It depends on the plot; Magamuni, for example, required me to understand a lot about spirituality and how a hitman works. So I saw a lot of documentaries and read news articles. Some stories might even require me to talk to someone related to the plot and check out the area in which it’s set. That’s my attempt to get as close to reality as possible. Considering it was also a dual-role, I saw a lot of content with the same trope and it got me thinking how differently I want to approach this,” says the director.
“In Rasavathi, it’s about a doctor,” he elaborates. “We might have seen doctors at clinics, but research was still needed to learn everything about their job. Everything right from his economic status to why he’s put up at Kodaikanal has to be established. Even if these aspects don’t get covered in the film, as a writer, I’m supposed to know this. This R&D gives structure to the film and helps make it more gripping.”
“It’s a simple tale of a relationship. I’ve not done a film with the hero-villain trope previously; Mouna Guru was about a completely unrelated student and a cop, while Magamuni housed characters whose situations turned them into villains. Even in Rasavathi, I wouldn’t separate the characters as a villain or a hero. I don’t see them from each other’s perspective; I see them as just characters.”
A still from ‘Rasavathi’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Unlike many writers who develop stories from a core idea, Santhakumar’s modus operandi is different. “When a character is put in an unusual condition, he builds his own story. That’s how it has worked but if I do a comedy film in the future — a genre I wish to work on — I would like it to have a plot line. If that itself ends up being funny, writing a screenplay over it would be easier,” says the filmmaker, who loves working on his own.
“When I go into solitude, my creative mind keeps working. I step out of it when I associate with people. Otherwise, I write a lot of ideas which I then have to connect to come up with a cohesive screenplay. Since I also pen the dialogues, I don’t define the lines the characters speak. I instead let the characters talk to each other in my mind, which I observe and note down. Solitude comes in handy in those instances,” adds Santhakumar who cites the writing process as an example. “There’s a difference between hiking and trekking; in hiking, there’s already a path to follow. In trekking, we have to make our own way and that’s what I do. I remember panicking while writing Mouna Guru, but I didn’t face that trouble with Magamuni or Rasavathi.”
Santhakumar, apart from writing and directing, has also produced Rasavathi. “I found something missing in my first two films and instead of expecting another person to do it, I thought I might as well get it done. Plus, I didn’t find it to be tough,” says the filmmaker, who credits his executive producer Prem for the job. “He takes the brunt of everyday production work and my company is also a product of partnership which relieves me of those responsibilities. After completing the film, getting involved as a producer in the promotion part of it is something new to me though.”
On being asked if he likes science a lot, he answers, “Absolutely, I studied Zoology. But it won’t make it to my film unless the story demands it and that also includes other technical aspects like music and cinematography.” I point out how it reminds me of Magamuni in which Muni, a peaceful samaritan lived in a calm and picturesque village, but Maga, a thug, had quite a chaotic life. “It comes down to which background this story can be mounted on. Rasavathi could happen anywhere in Tamil Nadu, but we have a reason why it’s set in Kodaikanal and that’s a product of R&D which lends a sense of authenticity to the story.”
Director Santhakumar | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Santhakumar’s protagonists are soft-spoken, righteous characters that are “built from scratch”. Citing making pottery from clay as an example, the filmmaker says, “After fixing the protagonist and antagonist, the supporting artists should also be given the same attention as they shouldn’t be on screen for the sake of it. I’m curious about every character’s backstory and life, and even if their role is short, this added information makes it easy to get the sort of performance I want from the artist.”
Interestingly, Santhakumar’s first two films have a bittersweet ending, something its maker does not completely agree with. “I see Mouna Guru as a positive ending though I understand where you’re coming from. It would’ve been darker had I ended the film with the lead getting psychological treatment. His returning to normal life lets the film end on a positive note, but in Magamuni, the ending is quite heavy,” says Santhakumar. “I don’t intentionally try to do something different. Spin bowlers know how to rotate their wrists to get the desired ball. I, on the other hand, am like that bowler from Lagaan with the deformed hand; I’m throwing a regular ball and it spins. It probably looks different for the audience, but I’m just a storyteller narrating a tale.”
Rasavathi is set to hit theatres on May 10
