Idhu Namma Aaluhas taken a really long time to release. You often joke of how you started working inIdhu Namma Aaluwhen your second son was just born. I assume he’s grown up now?
(Laughs)Yes, he has. He’s in LKG now.
It must have been very frustrating.
Of course it was. I can understand a Baahubali or a Shankar film taking this long to release, but Idhu Namma Aalu ( INA ) is just a small, simple movie that was meant to be completed in five months. It was a film I thought would take me to the next level. But it has been very sad and stressful. I was warned of this the second I said I was doing a film with Simbu.
Why, then, did you choose to work with him?
It’s very simple. He’s a one-take actor. You can give him the longest sheet of dialogue and he’ll deliver it effortlessly in one take. It’s not just limited to acting. He’s a great dancer and he’s got a great sense of music too. But he’s also very lazy. (Laughs)
Was it easy to move on to two other films (Pasanga 2, Kathakali) even asIdhu Namma Aaluremained unreleased?
I had no other choice. It’s like giving birth to two babies even when you’re still pregnant with the first. There was no effort from the producers to finish the film on time.
More than me being comfortable with moving on, I knew I had to, because I had 120 people working with me, who rely on my films for their livelihood.
But haven’t all these controversies helped the film?
Yes, it has. Usually films that take so long to release are always written off by the audience. Every time we felt the film was fading, we released a teaser or a trailer and it has stayed in their minds. I guess seeing Simbu and Nayan together is always going to be exciting. Even Simbu’s fans are like no other star’s. They’ve stayed loyal to him even if he doesn’t make films.
Given how the film is meant to be such a contemporary love story, didn’t certain portions get outdated?
More than the film getting outdated, I’ve come across many other films with scenes almost exactly like the ones I’d written for INA . As a creator, there’s nothing sadder than seeing people say “oh, this scene is lifted from that film”. So many ideas that were fresh back in 2013 aren’t as fresh today.
ButINAis a departure for you as well. You’ve been known for making kids films or village films.
I like to make socially conscious films like Pasanga , but I also want to make commercial films. A Pasanga, Goli Soda or a Kaaka Muttai are those rare films that work because they’re novel. But a commercial film is more challenging because you’re competing with 150 similar films. It’s about making different films that are just the same. I now want to make a film like that. A film with four songs, four sights and massy punch dialogues.
