“A good B and C-centre film can become a hit in the cities, but a great A-centre film may not work in the villages,” says director Ezhil, a man known to have a ‘firm grasp on the pulse of the audience’. Apparently, actor Vishnu Vishal too seems to be a believer of Ezhil’s logic. His three consecutive hits ( Jeeva,Mundasupatti and Indru Netru Naalai ), for all their praise in the cities, hadn’t struck a chord elsewhere. “I came to be known as the guy who only acts in “concept films”. Friends advised me to stick to them without getting into commercial cinema, which was already so competitive,” says Vishnu Vishal. “But I’m a cricketer (an injury ended his sporting career). It was like being tossed a googly. It was a challenge I had to face and Velainu Vandhutta Vellaikaaran is a way of showing audiences that even I can make a mass entertainer.”
But Vishnu soon realised that the rules of subtlety and restraint in acting don’t really apply in the mad world of Ezhil’s comedies. “Ezhil sir was convinced I could act in his kind of films after seeing me in Mundasupatti . He called that style of acting “lazy”, whereas he wanted something with more energy, something much “louder” for Velainu… ,” Vishnu says.
Instead of toning down performances, here’s a film where Vishnu was asked to go crazy. But he admits that the unlearning didn’t come very easily. “But he got the hang of it by the third day,” says Ezhil. “Once he understood what I had in mind, he could easily fit in. In fact, he even offered to re-shoot those scenes we’d shot until then. It’s like changing your settings,” he laughs.
Once Vishnu found this rhythm, he says the shoots were like no other film. “My dad wouldn’t believe me when I said I’d just returned from the shoot. He’d never seen me so relaxed. My films have been so emotional and intense that I usually tend to take a little bit of that back home. Velainu Vandhutta Vellaikaaran was so stress-free.”
Which is how Ezhil prefers to work as well. His last three films have all been comedies, a departure from his earlier dramas like Vijay’s Thulladha Manamum Thullum and the Prabhu Deva-starrer Pennin Manathai Thottu . “I have high BP (blood pressure). So I prefer to make and watch only movies that keep my BP low,” says Ezhil. “It’s not like the audiences today want to watch serious movies anyway. Having a message in a movie has become synonymous with boring. Honestly, I’m petrified to make a serious movie now.”
