Plumping for the unusual calls for guts and Vignesh seems to have it in plenty. Why else would the first-time director take up an intense family drama? And his angst should be more, because he is also the producer of the film, the recently released Vinmeengal. “Yeah, the onus increases when you take up production, but I had confidence in my budgeting and the subject,” smiles Vignesh.
In a scenario where the average film-going fraternity prefers implausible heroism to true-to-life emotions, only a few dare explore destinations that are decisively different. But has he emerged unscathed? “Sure, my effort has paid dividends. Vinmeengal has managed to break clichés. The motif of my screenplay has worked. In the theatres, I see parents' eyes turning moist in some of the sequences. Youngsters tell me that the film transports them to their boyhood, when they had been down with an ailment,” says Vignesh. “The icing was when, after a show, the principal of a school told me that beginning this year she plans to allot a seat for at least one child with such a condition. I was elated.”
The resilience of the couple in Vinmeengal and their struggle to make their son, affected by cerebral palsy, scale odds and live as normal a life as possible have gone down well with the discerning audience.
Rehearsals for the cast
Prudently, Vignesh conducted rehearsals for the entire cast before the film went on the floors. “Of course, except for Pandiarajan. He's a veteran.” However, the actor later told Vignesh that coming from a school that believes in explicit acting, the subtlety that Vignesh wanted, was quite an effort. But it has proved fruitful. Pandiarajan is being showered with plaudits from several quarters for his sterling performance.
‘Inspired by a true story,' reads the tagline of Vinmeengal . “Right, I read about this father of a special child, who took permission to run a marathon pushing his son seated on a wheelchair all the way, just because the boy yearned to participate in the race.” So with the incident in mind, Vignesh spun a credible yarn.
The film's cinematographer J. Anand, and Vignesh have been buddies from their college days. “The rapport helped me wrap up shoot in just 34 days,” says Vignesh, a Vis-Com graduate from Loyola. And as he had already worked on an audio book with Jubin, the composer was brought on board Vinmeengal .
Interestingly, Vignesh, a grandson of veteran filmmaker K. Shankar, who has directed more than 100 films in six languages, and actors including Sivaji Ganesan and MGR, hasn't trained under any director! Post his 76-minute feature-linked film Achchupizhai that garnered accolades at several international film festivals, and a stint in short film making, he felt equipped to wield the megaphone for a full-length feature.
It isn't often that you see a main character don the role of a magician, like Vinmeengal 's Vishwa does. “It's a metaphor. He works magic on his little son and transforms him into a strong individual, is the idea.” And the title is a metaphor too? “Very much, the characters in the film are like the stars that shine at night. They are strong enough to smile at the misery surrounding them,” he explains.
Happy with the positive responses to Vinmeengal , Vignesh soon plans to move on. “I have two scripts ready — a dark comedy and a thriller. The genres may be different, but logic will never be compromised,” he says.
Promising words indeed!
