Cinema has become a medium to question the existing norm, says Vetrimaaran

Filmmakers need to be very careful and tell a story engagingly, says Lokesh Kanagara

Vetrimaaran. | Photo Credit: K. Bhagya Prakash

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Film-maker Vetrimaaran, who has delivered a number of memorable films in the last 15 years, said film-makers who wish to tell stories to the millennial crowd has to develop awareness about what kind of stories need to be told and their intended audience.

He was speaking at a panel discussion involving film-makers Lokesh Kanagaraj and Karthik Subbaraj on “Creating Content for Millennials” at the Confederation of Indian Industry’s Dakshin South India Media and Entertainment Summit at the Chennai Convention Centre.

Expanding on the question about where he gets his stories from, Mr. Vetrimaaran said: “Every era has its own story. The place and socio-political scenario will decide what story is being told. It is important to develop that awareness — what kind of stories we must tell, who we should tell the story to and in what perspective we should understand it. Cinema was an escapist medium and it was about escaping actuality. Now, it has become a medium to question the existing norm (or support it).”

Mr. Lokesh, whose film, Vikram, starring Kamal Haasan is due for release on June 3, said it was important to pick a story that excites the person who aspires to tell it and said that the exposure of the audience to cinema has substantially increased.

“We have to be very careful while telling the stories because audiences are updated. The audience today can even talk about technical aspects of cinema: they recognise a ‘drone’ shot. So, we have to tell a story engagingly so that they are not thinking about these things,” said Mr. Lokesh.

Mr. Vetrimaaran said that film-makers had to tell the story with more finesse and authenticity as the audience were ahead of the film-makers sometimes.

“When we are shooting, we may miss watching certain films. But the general audience will watch those films. So, in a way, they are ahead of us. The films need more finesse and authenticity.”

“The world-building is necessary. Creating a world that audience is ready to buy is a big challenge. Some directors like Maniratnam have been doing it successfully for a long time. We are still able to believe the world they have created,” he said.

“The way we tell the stories has changed because the audiences have changed. Before, the heroes would be pure white people. Now, the audiences are ready to see and celebrate the grey shades in them. It gives film-makers more freedom to make the character more real by questioning the moral values,” Mr. Karthik added.