BW: Veyil’s success
must have increased the expectations
on you. Was it stressful?
Vasantha
Balan : I am not worried
about expectations. However
as a film maker I consciously
work for my films to be spoken
for its novelty. When Veyil
was in the final stages of making,
I started writing the script
of Angadi Theru. During that
time I did not know Veyil would
bring in many awards. When I
started Angadi Theru, I wanted
its genre to be different from
Veyil which had rural milieu
and talked about a winner and
a loser. At the same time, I
would like my film to have feelings,
emotions and speak profoundly
about love and affection. I
was keen to discuss the lives
of people belonging to the lower
strata of society. When I started
my next work, I wanted it to
be an honest and a successful
work. There were a few negligible
clichés in Veyil. And
I did not want them in Angadi
Theru. Coming to awards, they
have led me to do a decent film
without many blunders. Veyil’s
international journey has taught
me to avoid a certain type of
flash editing as it is being
viewed as a serious flaw overseas
which you will not see in Angadi
Theru. I have tried to portray
feelings without gimmicks and
have attempted to bring that
magic in the shooting itself.
What are the clichés
of Veyil?
Oh, they are not much and are
very miniscule in nature. As
a director, they would be visible
only to me. It is my way of
being critical about my own
work. The song ‘Ooran
thotathile’ is a kind
of hero ‘intro’
number which is very integral
to commercial films. Though
this number talks about the
rise of the hero and there was
a small story in it, I feel
it could have been avoided.
I have avoided such flaws in
Angadi Theru.
What
is Angadi Theru all about?
Many people ask me what is Angadi.
Angadi, it is a pure Tamil word
which means market or bazaar
and Theru, as is known to all,
is a street. So bazaar street
is the meaning of Angadi Theru.
To my knowledge, there are no
films on bazaar. There could
be films on gangster war in
a street or such stuff. But
there may not be films about
a business street. In our country,
most of the cities have a specific
street which is exclusively
known for its business. In Virudu
Nagar we call them ‘chinna
bazaar’ and ‘periya
bazaar’. In Chennai, Ranganathan
street in T Nagar is the bazaar
street. There is a life in all
these streets which begin early
in the day and goes on for long
hours. Angadi Theru is a recording
of such a life in a bazaar street.
In Silapathigaram and many such
old Tamil epics, you can find
the word Angadi. I am glad that
I am responsible for popularizing
this word.
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What
is the strength of Angadi
Theru?
The
story of Angadi Theru
is new and has not been
told till now in any of
the world films in any
format. This is its specialty.
The backdrop is very new
and the film deals with
various people in the
bazaar. A market place
sells many things from
inanimate to animate items.
In this world we all come
with a bar code. Everything
is for sale and only the
rate differs. In such
a materialistic world,
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"
There are 300
newcomers in
Angadi Theru " |
|
Angadi Theru is about a journey
which seeks love. This is its
strength. In addition, my background,
the atmosphere and the way it
is shot are new. I have shot
almost 80 scenes using hidden
camera. It is difficult to create
such a big ambience with many
shoppers. I did not create such
a mood, it automatically happened.
Angadi Theru speaks about survival
which I think is new to Tamil
cinema. The struggle for existence
of a man is discussed. There
are 300 newcomers in Angadi
Theru which will give you a
feeling of having visited Ranganathan
street. It is not only the noise,
not only the goods, but is the
life of a thousand souls. There
is a physically challenged beggar
who is dropped by his mom every
morning who goes on to do her
job, returns in the evening
to pick him. So there is a life
even there. When I say a beggar,
please don’t think Angadi
Theru is about beggars. All
along when we go for shopping,
we complete our shopping list,
have some refreshments and get
back. We don’t think about
the lives of people who are
in the market place. But after
Angadi Theru, you will start
thinking about it too. This
is the strength of Angadi Theru.
On
the search of your hero Mahesh?
My
story required a boy from
a small village in Tirunelveli
who comes to the city. So
I thought why not I take someone
from such a place directly.
I wanted a person who speaks
the local language, who has
specific facial expression
and has an ordinary face that
has not been ravaged by beauty
parlors. I liked the thrill
in this hunt. In fact when
I started Veyil after my first
film Album, my family and
well-wishers wanted me to
do a formulaic commercial
project. They were very apprehensive
about a film that talks about
a loser and tried to dissuade
me. But the normal path does
not excite me and I like the
thrills unchartered terrains
offer and I started my journey
towards that thrill in search
of my hero. A team of 35 people
were involved in this mission
and we found our man in Tirunelveli
playing volleyball. He belongs
to a very simple family and
his dad sells small eats in
a theatre. I also consider
it to be a forward step in
a
|
"
A director is
the mother of
every artist" |
director
wherein he makes a positive
difference in someone’s
life. In this way, I feel
a director is the mother
of every artist and I am
happy to have found Mahesh.
I consider his success as
mine. It is my deep desire
that he succeeds. His face
is such an ordinary, pitiable
one; he need not try to
show any emotion. It is
simple if he comes and stands
in front of the camera.
This is what I needed and
he satisfied my needs. He
coalesced with the script
very well. |
|
Why Anjali when Asins, Trishas
and Nayantharas are there?
I
am not doing a big commercial
film to have Asin or Trisha
or Nayanthara. I appreciate
them in films as a fan. I wanted
a heroine with a ‘girl
next door’ look. When
we analyze love, in most cases,
the involvement will be with
our next door girl or boy. The
simple reason is that this is
the face we bump into every
day and every night. To me,
a face with its minute imperfections
appears very realistic. I saw
Anjali in Katradhu Thamizh and
her plain Jane looks appealed
to me but I chose her with a
bit of trepidation because I
wanted to hunt for my heroine
also. But as the hero hunt itself
had taken a quite a while, I
decided against it. However
Anjali has done a wonderful
job and I am happy I chose her.
She is a director’s actress
who has cooperated very well.
She is also a very dedicated
artist.
About
cinematography
In
Angadi Theru, I am introducing
a new cinematographer, Richard
M Nathan who was K V Anand’s
associate and has worked in
Sivaji and a few Hindi films.
Angadi Theru needed a hunting
type of camera as it was full
of thrills and 90% of the shooting
was done at nights. I used to
start around 6 in the evening
and go on till 9 or 10 the next
morning. It was a very uncomfortable
situation where I should complete
my work before the crowd starts
coming in as I was shooting
mostly in crowded areas. So
I |
needed a cameraman who
will give me enough dates
and I opted for Richard.
When I had narrated the
script to him, he brought
in his test shoot which
I really liked. Richard
is a highly bankable person
who never got unperturbed
by the late night schedule.
We have done a lot of
hidden shoots and Richard
rose up to the occasion.
His visuals were much
appreciated in the audio
release also. |
"
Richard is a
highly bankable
person " |
|
Editor Sreekar Prasad
When I desired my film to reach
international standards I wanted
the editing to go to the right
hands and the first name that
came to my mind was Sreekar
Prasad. Katradu Thamizh gave
me two talents, Sreekar Prasad
and Anjali. His repertoire is
impressive with eight coveted
awards and many cross over films.
His editing is seamless and
I have been getting many offers
to present my film in international
film festivals. The value of
my film goes up when Sreekar
Prasad is at the helm of affairs
in the editing department. |
"
Sneha has
come for a
big price " |
About Sneha’s
cameo?
It was for an advertisement
campaign in the film
and as Sneha does many
such campaigns we wanted
to cast her. And Sneha
has come for a big price.
It is a small role.
|
|
About
‘Karungali Naaye’
number which ridicules bosses.
In our various walks of life,
we often come across a few characters
who would constantly be nitpicking
about us to our superior, be
it in school or in work place.
We cannot do anything and have
to simply put up with them impotently.
These people make our life miserable
and we have to live with them
as we have no choice. I get
very angry with such people.
So this song is for all such
people to vent their powerless
anger.
About
Kadhaigalai Pesum Vizhiyaruge?
It was shot at night. The couple
in love is spending some time
together but the man does not
have a single penny to spend.
All the same, he feels good
because his lover is beside
him. I viewed the night as an
occasion which celebrates love
unmindful of mundane issues.
The lovers miss the last bus
and consider that night to be
their last night. At this juncture,
I would like to draw the attention
to nights of Chennai. It is
the most beautiful one. Kamal
Hassan |
once said that nights have
one thousand eyes whereas
day has just one. During
the day, you cannot notice
anything; it is always fast
paced and action packed.
Nights are intensely peaceful
and lend us tranquility.
Even a busy street takes
on a beautiful shape during
nights. I somehow feel nights
are hugely scented and we
all go to sleep engulfed
by its fragrance. I like
the beauty of night and
wanted a song set at that
time. I shot the number
for ten nights with much
difficulty. The song celebrates
night. |
"
Nights are hugely
scented and we all go
to sleep engulfed by
its
fragrance"
|
|
I have always observed a peculiar
smell especially in very old
unattended temples encompassing
bats, holy ash and such things
which you will not find in well
maintained temple. In this song
a particular line draws a parallel
between this unique fragrance
to that of his lover. Secondly
I also find a rhythm in the
revolution of the moon which
has been brought beautifully
in the lyrics by Naa Muthukumar.
I have dedicated this number
to the memory of veteran music
director Salil Chaudhery. He
is one of my favorites whose
music has a mesmerizing and
haunting quality.
Who
is the villain in Angadi Theru?
Fate and life!
Would
Angadi Theru also bag many awards
like Veyil?
Yes, very definitely. Veyil
has brought me to a different
league in international cinema
and people are approaching me
to screen Angadi Theru. I will
most certainly present my film
and it would also fetch many
awards.
|
"
I do not want to be a
senior bully standing
at
the gate and blocking
newcomers. " |
After Veyil, why was
your next venture not
for S pictures?
S Pictures was started
mainly with the objective
of encouraging and giving
an opportunity for talented
newcomers. I do not
want to be a senior
bully standing at the
gate and blocking others.
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Role of Assistant Directors
in cinema?
Cinema is said to be an
amalgamation of 24 crafts
and for a director to
execute this, he needs
the help of assistant
directors. A director
thinks but assistant director
executes it. For instance,
I have spent three days
in a blacksmith’s
place to ready the knife
that was used by Indian
thatha in Indian. For
Angadi Theru, I wanted
to find a hero but the
job was done by my assistant
directors Nagaraj and
Prasad. Such |
"
A director thinks
but assistant director
executes it" |
|
instances
are aplenty. The job of an assistant
director will tantamount to
managing one thousand elephants.
It is round the clock work.
Assistant directors are the
soul, blood and skin of a film
but with a minimal salary. One
can get a degree in film making
from institutes but the nuances
of film making can be learnt
only by working as an assistant
director. Shooting spot is tension
filled area. How the director
deals with a variety of atypical
situations makes for a good
learning. Shooting spots let
you discover where to give in
and where to stay firm. From
today’s assistant directors
only, tomorrow’s Sathyajit
Rays or Mrinal Sens or Shyam
Benegals will be born. In my
opinion, assistant directors
are the backbone of the film.
On
the current trends in Tamil
cinema
It is very healthy and audience
tastes are expanding. A director’s
main job is to develop the tastes
of the audience. There was a
time when people believed that
no body would like to watch
a sulking hero but my Veyil
proved them wrong. There are
no limitations. The success
|
"
Tamil cinema has
certainly improved in
the
technical side, in
narration and in being
realistic." |
of films like Pasanga, Subramaniapuram,
Paruthi Veeran, Nadodigal
only reveal that tastes
of audience can never be
undermined. They seem to
want something new. For
the past four years, middle
cinema is recording success
and I am very happy to have
contributed in my own way
through Veyil. Tamil cinema
has certainly improved in
the technical side, in narration
and in being realistic.
This can be considered as
the golden age of Tamil
cinema. I am planning to
organize a film festival
for Tamil films here and
invite delegates from around
the world and showcase our
masterpieces. This has been
my dream and I hope to realize
it next year. |
|
Your favorite directors?
The list is long but I wish
to state contemporary ones.
In Tamil I like Katradu Thamizh
director Ram, in Hindi Anurag
Kashyap, Rock on’s Farhan
Akthar, Neeraj Pandey of A Wednesday
fame. In the international scenario,
my favorites are Majid Majidi
and Alejandro Gonzalez.
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What
do you like in Shankar?
He is a very calm director
and does not get perturbed.
He is extremely hard working.
Even for a minute detail,
he would repeatedly work
and bring the best in
the screen play. He is
very adept in giving the
work to the right person
and getting the job done.
I like his |
"
Shankar’s films
are a carnival and
a true celebration. " |
|
grandeur
visual sense. He can make the
most complicated subject also
understandable to the common
man through his simple narration.
I like Shankar for increasing
the budget of Tamil cinema to
150 crore. He is the pride of
Tamil cinema and I am proud
to have worked under him. Shankar’s
films are a carnival and a true
celebration.
Is
it true that you will be directing
an English film?
It is not an English film but
a cross over like Slum dog millionaire.
I don’t want to leave
Tamil films immediately. I want
to focus here and complete a
couple of them. Perhaps later
I will start as an experimental
attempt in English. I have not
made up my mind. It is true
I got an offer but it may not
happen immediately.
What
would you want to be known as
after a few years?
I want to be known as a director
who gives innovative, quality
films. And I don’t want
to be typecast or bracketed
within a framework. I want to
be recognized as a director
who would churn out different
genres of films. I want to be
a film maker with diverse works
to my credit. In the olden days
director Sridhar’s films
were like that, each one different
from others. Similarly Manivannan’s
films will never be on predictable
genres. |
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