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Interviewer & Text: Daya Kingston | Camera:
Hemananth.B & P. Ganesh Babu
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As
director Vikram K Kumar’s horror
thriller Yaavarum Nalam gets ready
to hit the silver screens and the
nail biting suspense gets stronger,
we caught up with the director. Having
learnt the craft from one of India’s
finest directors – Priyadarshan,
the expectations from Vikram are quite
high. Vikram has won a National Award
for his short film ‘Silent Scream’
and also introduced actress Shriya
in his debut film Ishtam in Telugu.
This was followed by the Tamil film
Alai starring Simbhu.
The bi-lingual Yaavarum Nalam (Tamil)
or 13B (Hindi) revolves around the
happenings in a house that bears the
number 13B, a number that horrifies
the superstitious. Interestingly every
13th the team is reported to have
faced problems while shooting. Certainly
spooky indeed! The camera is handled
by ace cinematographer P.C. Sreeram
and was shot primarily in a spectacular
multi-storied apartment set created
for the film, so we are in for a visual
treat too. This is a bi-lingual and
is titled 13B in Hindi. The cast consists
of Madhavan, Neetu Chandra besides
Saranya and Poonam Dhillon who play
the mothers in Tamil and Hindi respectively.
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BW: Your first Tamil
film Alai was a romantic one
but now you are doing a horror
thriller Yaavarum Nalam. How
did you find the transition?
Vikram
K Kumar: I did not
make a deliberate effort to
write a horror thriller. I was
working on various ideas and
came across this one. The script
took six months to write and
when it was completed, it shaped
into this genre. I just wanted
to tell a good story and when
I translated this idea on screen,
it turned out to be in the horror
genre. The film has come out
very well. This was the best
story I had at that point in
time. |
"Television
is
my
protagonist" |
What was the inspiration
behind Yaavarum Nalam?
The main protagonist here
is the TV. The TV is the
hero of my film and the
story is based on my observations
in the last two years.
Whenever I visited my
hometown in Kerala and
met my mother, I found
the people at home enjoying
serials. I could not disturb
them while they were watching
a serial. In fact, I would
get my food only after
the serials were over.
Their world revolved around
TV programs. In a film
script, you relate to
the character only for
three hours. However,
in a serial the association
with the character is
on a daily basis and they
become part of the family
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as you relate to their
joys and sorrows. And
another thing, if you
look at the TV as a product,
every home appliance has
a basic duty like say
for an A/C it’s
cooling, but for a TV
its main focus is to play
with our emotions, to
make us laugh, cry, think,
believe etc. I can sit
before it and see the
bottom of the Pacific
and the top of the Himalayas.
It’s the most amazing
machine. When the TV first
came in, every street
had just one TV and everyone
would come to one house
as a community to watch
it. Then every house had
its own TV and people
watched it in their own
homes. It brought the
family together and later
it split the family as
each had his or her own
agenda. The same thing
which brought them together
split them into separate
rooms. They stopped interacting
with each other. There
are a lot of things you
can say about the TV but
I did not want to be preachy.
This is a fictional entertainer,
a scary film but does
not look at whether the
TV is good or bad. I guarantee
you that it will be engrossing
and with unexpected twists
and turns.
What is the storyline
like?
It’s about a family-
Maddy, his mother, brother
with kids, basically an
upcoming middle class
family whose dream is
to buy a flat of their
own and they take a loan
and move into their apartment
13B. Coincidentally, the
same day the first episode
of a serial called Yaavarum
Nalam is aired. The serial
has similar characters
like this family and they
too move into a new house
like them.
What kind of role does
Maddy play?
Maddy plays a very normal
person like any one of
us. He does not have superhuman
strength and has his vulnerabilities.
He is a very loving son,
a doting husband, a fantastic
brother, a loving uncle
and he’s a member
of the family, not the
hero of the film. He is
the breadwinner and an
engineer who is hard working.
He wants his life to be
better tomorrow and even
better after that. He
wants to give his family
a better life. |
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Your heroine Neetu Chandra
is from Bollywood, did
she have a problem with
the dialogues?
She worked very hard.
Initially, when she came
for the screen test, she
was very clear that she
did not know the language.
So we had to work towards
it. Every evening my assistants
would sit with her and
go through the lines and
then she would call me
over the phone and tell
me the dialogues over
the phone. She worked
very hard and did really
well. |
"Neetu
Chandra
works
hard"
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What kind of character does
she play? Will it be a bubbly
one?
She
is bubbly but not like a college
girl. She is married for 2 years
but she is the second youngest
in the family. She is bubbly
but has maturity. She is the
younger daughter-in-law and
she has played the character
well.
Actress Poonam Dhillon is making
a comeback? What is her role
like?
This is Poonam’s comeback
in Hindi and she plays the important
character of the mother, important
primarily because there is no
father. The father dies at a
young age and the mother brings
up the children. Hence the sons
owe a lot to their mother. I
needed a strong lady who could
convincingly portray that she
had brought up the kids on her
own. I needed the character
to have a dignity.
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"Mumbai
mothers
are
glamorous" |
Saranya
essayed the mother’s
role in Tamil and Poonam
in Hindi. What kind of
difference did each of
them bring in to the character?
They both have performed
very well and brought
their persona into the
character. Poonam’s
role is a bit more glamorous
because in Mumbai mothers
are glamorous. They dress
very well, care for themselves
and go to the gym. I needed
that kind of a person.
Saranya is like a mom
here, loving and tender.
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How easy or tough was it making
a bi-lingual?
It was very very tough. I did
not know it was this tough when
I got into it. Shooting was
not a big problem; we would
finish one shot in Hindi, then
Tamil. The cast was also different
except some common characters
like Maddy, so it was not a
problem. Shooting was a breeze
but the logistics were a problem,
bringing the artistes from Bombay
and scheduling their dates.
Though the logistics were a
nightmare, we did not have such
problems related to creatively.
Post-production was difficult
because it was time consuming.
Was it a scene-by-scene reproduction?
No, it was dialogue by dialogue,
shot by shot reproduction.
You have worked with acclaimed
cinematographer PC Sreeram?
What was your experience like?
It was the most enlightening
experience of my life so far.
I have been in films from when
I was nineteen. If you take
the first ten years, I have
done a short film and two feature
films and I have learnt a lot.
I have become a richer and more
confident filmmaker all because
of Mr. C Sreeram. He is my guru
and I am working with him for
the first time. What I have
learnt with my interaction is
unbelievable. He only thinks
about films.
Could you talk about the lighting
in the film?
I think Mr. PC Sreeram will
be the right person to answer
that.
PC Sreeram and Madhavan have
come together again after a
long time. What was it like?
They worked together in Alaipayuthey
and their chemistry is tremendous.
It was good fun.
You
have designed elaborate sets
for the film. Can you share
the details with us?
I needed to erect an apartment
set with certain dimensions.
There were few places where
we could erect a set as most
of the shooting floors were
booked. So, we created a temporary
shooting floor on an empty site.
We had ten rooms with functioning
toilets, A/C and other amenities.
We shot for a month and when
we went to see the site later,
it was completely gone.
You
were assisting Director Priyadarshan?
What were the projects you worked
in?
When I joined Priyan Sir, he was
working on a lot of Hindi films
basically patch work and songs
from films like Saat Rang Ke Sapne,
Kabhi Naa Khabi. The first film
I worked with him was a Malayalam
film called Chandralekha. I worked
for seven films and the last was
Snehidiye with Jyothika.
What was your experience working
with him? How far does his work
influence yours?
The best part of working with
him is that you work for many
films. Most directors work for
two films in three years, but
with him I worked for seven
films. He was continuously working,
so we assistants never had to
sit around and wait till he
did his next film. We had no
rest, we were shooting a lot.
I owe a lot to him especially
the grammar and technique of
film making. I am sure my own
identity as a filmmaker would
come in soon. Priyan sir is
very clear with his techniques
and rules.
Has he seen your film?
Not yet. I am waiting for it.
What
did he feel about your first
two feature films?
He really liked my first film
but the second film he did not
like. |
What were the compliments
he gave for your first
film?
Well,
Priyan Sir is not that
much expressive, he’s
a man of few words, if
he shakes your hand and
smiles, you know he liked
it.
You had won a national
award for your film Silent
Scream. Can you tell us
more about this?
All my friends were doing
MBA and I was in the creative
field. I needed to know
whether this was the right
choice. There’s
no |
"Priyadarshan
is
not
expressive"
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in realizing the field is not
right after ten years. I needed
to assess myself and after one
year, I made this film. It was
like a report card. I made the
film and sent it for the National
Award and when it won, I knew
I had it in me.
What was the theme of the film?
It
was based on suicide. When a
suicide happens every one guesses
whether it was love failure,
financial reasons… everyone
is worried about why the person
took his life... However what
about the act of taking his
life, it’s a silent scream
and the reason why he is doing
it is never there. The act has
no justification.
What is your take on people
remaking old films and reusing
old film titles?
It is scary. Remixes, old stories
and titles... it’s a worrying
trend. One should create something
original. I am a writer-director.
It’s wrong for me to pass
judgment on others but I would
personally never do it. I would
rather spend two years writing
a script and then start working,
rather than just take a film and
make it on screen in a few months.
This would not last. I need to
be in a studio with a camera and
shoot even when I am eighty years
old. |
"One
cannot make
a
career
watching
films" |
What made you chose film-making
as a career?
Primarily, I loved watching
films and was a fan of
cinema. I would watch
any kind of film, Indian
or Hollywood. While everybody
was studying for something,
I realized I needed to
do something I loved doing.
I loved watching films
but one cannot make a
career watching films.
So I decided to try making
films. My perspective
was from the gallery.
I am an audience first.
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How did you feel watching your
first film on screen?
It was a fantastic experience,
almost magical, it was wonderful.
We came out of the theatre but
we did not tell anyone who we
were and we went around asking
the audience what they felt. |
You introduced Shriya,
tell us about her?
She
is a talented heroine,
a dear friend of mine
and deserves every success
she has. She is a wonderful
actress and she has just
started. She has lots
of films to do and lots
of characters to play.
What was your experience
with Simbhu?
It was fine. |
"Shirya
is
my
dear
friend"
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What kind of films do you want
to make?
All genres. I want to make a
love story, action story, comedy,
animation, there are so many
stories I want to tell and none
of them are the same genre.
I don’t take two or three
films of the same kind at the
same time. If you take action,
there should be something new.
I want to try out all permutations
and combinations. I like love
stories, but here in every story
the hero and heroines have to
meet excepting the fact that
only their meeting places can
be different.
Who are your favorite directors?
I love good films, Radha Mohan’s
Mozhi, Vishnuvardhan’s Arindhum
Ariyamalum and Pattiyal. Gautham
Menon’s Khaakha Khaakha
and Vettaiyadu Vilayadu are fantastic.
Lingusamy’s Sandakozhi and
Bala’s works. Vennila Kabaddi
Kuzhu was mind-blowing and by
a fantastic director Suchindran.
The story has come out clearly
and I loved his work too. |
"Budgets
have
nothing to do
with
good or bad
films" |
Do you think small budget
films can work as well
as big ones?
Budgets have nothing to
do with good or bad films.
It is purely based on
the story and how well
you can carry it to the
audiences. It also depends
on the characters used
and whether they understand
and enjoy it. For a film
to succeed, you don’t
need big money. To make
a successful film, the
clarity of thought, honesty
in narration and entertainment
are needed.
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What are your upcoming projects?
I have absolutely no clue. I
have written a lot of stories,
looking forward to doing them.
Why
a bilingual?
This is not a culture based
story. It can happen anywhere,
in Chennai, New York, Japan,
you name it. Madhavan was good.
He could immediately deliver
dialogues in Hindi and Tamil.
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