Dhanush is my biggest shield. Whatever be the situation, he creates a space for me to work. This has been the case since our first film.
— Vetrimaaran
When people told me that 'Polladhavan' was a remake of 'Bicycle Thieves,' I wanted to laugh because comparing 'Polladhavan' to 'Bicycle Thieves' is a disgrace to the latter.
Craftsmanship and logic is key to any movie-making.
Cannes Film Festival prefers political films. We have to target certain festivals based on our films.
Primarily, a festival is a platform to sell films that are not meant for the mainstream audience. Cultural exchange is also important aspect of a film festival.
It is a challenging task to adapt a book to screen presentation and you will not be able to satisfy those who read the classic novel.
Visaranai' isn't for those with weak hearts. It has a lot of graphic violence, and you need a strong stomach to watch the film.
We'd like to explore the prequel idea. I think it would be best suited as a web series on some digital platform. The prequel will be called 'Rajan Vagaira,' and it will track the rise of Rajan's character in 'Vada Chennai' and how he built his empire.
Despite strict instructions from my mother not to step out of the house, I cycled all the way to Vellore to watch ‘Thevar Magan.' In fact, I grew up watching classic films such as ‘Naayakan,' ‘Thaalapathi' and ‘En Bommukutty Ammavukku.'
I feel you lose your audience when you make movies for others and not for yourself or your people.
I always feel that my films ought to teach me something about life.
The pressure and hype is created by the media. Of course, expectations are there and we cannot stop that nor change yourself for expectations. We just continue making films.
For me, every film is a learning process. After each, I take time to unlearn.
Anybody with a good smart phone can shoot and edit a film. Distributing it is the hard part.
One of my staff members told me that after the release of the film, whenever a custodial death is reported, people say - ‘Another 'Visaranai.' This is the kind of change that I am looking for; it should hit you hard.
India is a conglomeration of different states with various languages, tradition, and culture for each.
The psychology of education is all about how the society gets benefited from it.
And I don't want people to think that I make movies based on other films.
The academy which boasts of 6,000 to 8,000 voting members are most likely to get swayed by the national mood in the US. There is a point person for every movie at the Oscars, who is supposed to promote the film and is trusted by the panel. By keeping all these in mind, Tamil cinema making its way to the final list is quite ambitious.
Characters, conflict and geography are things that must be considered while making movies from adaptations.
In Toronto, the film festival is like a carnival… entire families come to it.
For the role of 50-year-old Sivasami in 'Asuran,' Dhanush has put in phenomenal effort. With his extreme level of dedication, he pulled off the challenging character effortlessly.
Smaller films that have a great run at the festivals usually result in the audience promoting the film on social media and so on.
Every film that I make is an accident.
I've always been interested in showing our films to international audiences. The easiest way is through the festival circuit, a big marketing platform for films that aren't big enough to be in the mainstream race.
If you get the right cast, half your work is done.
There is a huge market ready to accept good Tamil content.
I am a serious filmmaker, and I see the whole process of filmmaking more as a piece of art.
The best part about an actor is that they should firstly be receptive and secondly be expressive.
I wrote 'Aadukalam' keeping Dhanush in mind. As an actor, he delivers exactly what I need and sometimes more.
Manikandan is a complete filmmaker and knows his job well.
Once, a man at the customs duty check at the Delhi Airport asked me a question in Hindi, and I told him that I didn't speak the language. He got angry and said, 'How could you not speak in Hindi? Hindi is our mother tongue.' I told him that it wasn't my mother tongue. He got furious, and made me wait for over 45 minutes.
We should protest to ban NEET altogether.
Dhanush paid my salary in 2015 when I needed it to make 'Visaaranai.'
Actually, after three years, I realised that the opening scenes of 'Polladhavan' were inspired by 'Lolita,' in which the lead character says, 'Why did I meet her? My life would have been different had I not met her.'
The joy I get while listening to my daughter, Poonthendrel, speak is incomparable. I've listened to several other kids speak but have never enjoyed it as much as I have enjoyed listening to my daughter.
The first 40-50 pages of ‘Veekai' is what made it film-friendly. I realised the subject would be relevant even after 50 years.
Film festivals give less of a platform to mainstream films because they already have a market.
When you are adapting a book to a visual medium, you tend to leave a few things and add a few new ones.
Big-budget movies might have huge marketing budgets, but only some films have the content to stand out.
I've done just three films in nine years.
Slum children eat crow's eggs for nutrition yet nobody respects this common bird. It's the exotic birds which fascinate all.
A script writer usually manipulates his characters in accordance to the script.
It's always good to promote a film on a larger scale before it's been put to test.
The Hindi remake rights for 'Visaranai' have been bought by director Priyadarshan.
Awards are an encouragement. An award is not something we aim at while making a film.
Visaaranai' reflects a stark reality from which you cannot shut yourself out: that is its success.
Kaaka Muttai' is the expression of an insider. It is a film about globalisation and its effects.
The violence in 'Visaranai' is based on reality.
When we belong to a community and learn things that are no way related to our society, we live as unwanted entities in that society.
