DIRECTOR PRAKASH KOVELAMUDI INTERVIEW

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I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN INFLUENCED BY RAJINIKANTH AND KAMAL HAASAN

Interview Team : Jyothsna; Venkat; Avudaiappan

Director Prakash Kovelamudi talks to Jyothsna Bhavanishankar on his film Inji Iduppazhagi, Anushka’s dedication, his team, his take on size zero fad and much more.




 

A brief intro about yourself

I am a third generation filmmaker. My grandfather (Surya Prakash Rao) and father (Raghavendra Rao) are filmmakers. I have been exposed to cinema from a very early age. During my early years, I was more interested in theatre. I studied theatre from  New York.

 

I started off with acting with the film Morning Raga and then I moved to direct a children’s film Bommalata (A belly full of dreams). This film won National Awards for Best Child Artist and Best Telugu language film in the year 2005. I have also done a film called Anaganaga O Dheerudu with Siddharth and Shruti Haasan. I have done TV shows in Hindi. I liked the story written by my wife Kanika and decided to make that into a film in both Tamil and Telugu. That’s how Inji Iduppazhagi and Size Zero happened.

 

How did you zero in on Anushka?

Two reasons! Anushka’s role in the film is a performance based one. Her name in the film is Sweety and her character has a lot of spunk. Sweety is very lively, gutsy and is comfortable in the way she is. But when there is pressure from the society and from her family to lose weight and then get married, there comes a vulnerable side to her character which makes you feel for her. To strike this balance is very difficult for an actress, and as a performer we felt Anushka would be the best one to do this. We wanted someone to play it well and at the same time play it in a realistic fashion.

 

Given the range and body of work that Anushka has done, she was perfect. From a physicality perspective also, when we needed someone to put on weight, we wanted the artist to look adorable, charming and cute. In that angle also Anushka  has lent herself very well to the role.

Even when Anushka put on weight, she was cute, adorable and charming

 

When you said she has to put on weight for this character, did Anushka not mind?

Not at all! When she heard the story, she liked it a lot. While initially we explored the option of prosthetics, she said NO and said it will look fake. She said “I will put on weight and will not do any other movie in this period”. It was a bold decision especially for an actress who is on top of her game to be willing to do it for a character. It was completely her decision.

Anushka said  she will put on weight and will not do any other movie in this period

 

How did you decide on Arya?

Primarily it came from a character perspective. Arya’s role of Abishek is that of an NRI documentary film maker. We wanted someone with a sincere look about changing the world and society. At the same time, the character also should look sophisticated and fit. He is a fitness enthusiast. For a girl to be struck by love at first sight and smitten by looks, we wanted someone with that charm and appeal. Arya checked in all these boxes.

 

From a performance stand point, his role is very subtle. Playing it subtle, he still needs to make an impact. I have seen all his films, and I really think, he plays a wide range and he perfectly fitted these parameters. In fact he was our first choice. He was very busy and once he heard the story, he moved around his dates to accommodate us. We are fortunate in both the cases that we got the actors we wanted.  Thanks to the producers who played a major role in getting these artists for us.

Arya checked in all the boxes.

 

How familiar are you with Tamil? How did you manage at the sets?

I am quite fluent in Tamil as I grew up in Chennai. I watch a lot of Tamil films. From a director’s stand point I did not have problems as I know the language well enough to direct.

 

How was Prasanna’s contribution to the film as a dialogue writer? 

He was a great asset. The story and dialogues were originally written in Hindi. Once he read that, he was able to bring in those nuances very well in Tamil and adapt it to the cultural milieu. His dialogues are realistic and you will realize that it is not filmy. He brought in the desired charming rhythm of language. There is also another dialogue writer Balaji who assisted Prasanna. Both of them have done a wonderful job.

Prasanna brought in the desired charming rhythm of language

 

Keeravani’s music 

In my opinion, there are four pillars to Inji Iduppazhagi. They are the producers, actors, the writing and Keeravani sir’s music. He captured the cultural milieu of an upper middle class society aptly. All the songs are situation driven and they are not cut away  numbers. Keeravani sir’s music moves the story forward. His background score elevated the story to a higher level. He was a big asset in designing the song, bringing the desired lyrical quality, interacting with the lyricist and getting the right kind of voices for each of the song. It was an enjoyable process collaborating with Keeravani sir. 

Keeravani sir’s background score elevated the story to a higher level

 

Nirav Shah

Nirav Shah is a phenomenal cinematographer. I have always wanted to work with him and fortunately it has happened. We wanted the film to reflect Anushka’s personality as her character is full of life and positivity. We needed the colors and lighting to indicate her persona and mood. Nirav understood these nuances. Any DoP will make a pretty picture of a setting with appropriate lighting. But to be able to tell the story, to set the right mood and to move the narrative forward, someone like Nirav only can excel. From a filmmaking stand point he brought in a lot of strength to that department through his camera work. The personality of the character, its highs and lows and the conflicts were all well portrayed, thanks to Nirav’s cinematography.

Nirav Shah is a phenomenal cinematographer

 

Prakash Raj and Oorvashi

I have always been a big fan of Prakash Raj and Oorvashi.

 

I have seen Oorvashi madam’s films a lot as I was in Chennai in my growing up years. I used to love her comic timing. For this particular character who constantly nags her daughter to lose weight, there also needs to be certain sense of humor. The way she balanced it was wonderful. Inherently she has that quality. At the same time, she is able to show a mother’s pain and a certain level of vulnerability. She is a consummate actress where in essaying her role, she did not make it one dimensional.

 

Prakash Raj plays the owner of a slimming centre. It is all about show and enticing the customers to his centre. His character is quirky but there is something likeable about him although he plays a negative shade. That’s a difficult balancing act. He has struck the right balance.

Oorvashi is a consummate actress 

 

Other characters

If you look at all the characters in the film, they are all real and none of them are caricatures. They might be funny. You will be able to identify with them as you would have seen such people in your real life. There is something very charming and sweet about the entire cast and the way it is put together.

My characters are all real and none of them are caricatures

 

What is your personal take on Size Zero?

I just feel that the idea of size, beauty and its associated facets are perpetuated by the Western media and we have been influenced by the same for the last ten years. If we look at our culture or paintings, whether it’s the women or the heroines (in films) set in the time period till the 90s, they were  of different shapes and sizes and beauty was never measured with respect to that. It was more of their look personality or acting. In the past decade or so, the Western media has propagated the idea that unless you are size zero, you are no longer beautiful or desirable. There is a lot of pressure on the society through mass media influences like the TV or the magazines or fashion trends. These influence our mindset.

 

Through this movie, I am making a statement against that way of being and trying to tell, ‘please embrace for what you are. You are not measured by a weighing scale’. That’s my personal take and that’s why I made this film. 

The idea of size, beauty and its associated facets are perpetuated by the Western media 

 

Your previous films Bommalatta and Anaganaga o Dheerudu had puppetry and fantasy as its premise. Do you have an affinity towards children’s films?

Generally I like fantasy, mythology and all of that. Growing up, I used to read a lot of Amar Chithra Katha which had a big influence on me. As a story teller, those stories influenced me a lot and as a film maker I had an affinity towards that kind of storytelling. That said, what I missed out in Anaganaga O Dheerudu was the strong human emotion. While the spectacle was there, the fantasy element was all done well and appreciated, we missed out on telling the strong human story within that. I was very clear that in my next film, I wanted to focus on human story and fortunately Inji Iduppazhagi satisfied that. It freed me up a lot more from working again on the same genre. I really enjoyed doing Inji Iduppazhagi.

What I missed out in Anaganaga O Dheerudu was the strong human emotion

 

You have acted in two movies earlier in your career. Will you take up acting again?

No, not really. I came from theatre. The kind of acting which is there in films, it is a little different in theatre and I was not able to adapt my style to films. I don’t think I was a good actor. I am more comfortable directing. 

 I am more comfortable directing

 

Who are your favorite artists/film makers in Tamil?

It is actually difficult to name a particular person as I enjoy films more than artists. Growing  years, I have always been influenced by Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan. I loved watching Bhagyaraj and Bharathi Raja’s films. Then later it was Mani Ratnam’s films; I like Shankar’s kind of stories, I like his spectacle. Among the new crop, I like Ameer and Bala’s works. To me, it’s more than the personalities, it’s the films that I love. I loved Jigarthanda, Soodhu Kavvum and Kaakka Muttai.

 

Jyothsna Bhavanishankar

 

 

 I have always been influenced by Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan


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