FilmmakerVyshakh believes that big is better and so his movies have always been big-budget projects with multi-star casts. But even for him, Mohanlal-starrer Pulimurugan is his biggest movie ever and the usually cautious Vyshakh feels that this is one that will certainly impress critics and fans alike. With a track record that includes huge hits and some flops, Vyshakh makes it clear that he is in the game to entertain. Even as Pulimurugan releases today, Vyshakh spends some time to talk about his mega project that has been in the works for nearly two years.
Produced under the banner of Mulakupadam Films, the multi-starrer scripted by Udayakrishna has been filmed by Shaji Kumar. Music has been composed by Gopi Sunder. Lal, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Bala, Telugu actor Jagapati Babu, KPAC Lalitha, Kamalini Mukherjee and Namitha Pramod are some of the actors in the movie. Renowned fight choreographer Peter Hein has choreographed the action sequences. It is being touted as one of the biggest releases in Malayalam with the film hitting theatres in Kerala and other states.
Excerpts from an interview over the phone with the director.
This is your first film with Mohanlal. How was the experience of working with the superstar?
Memorable! There was no superstar on the sets. On the contrary Lal sir was like a newcomer. He was completely involved in the movie and his passion for films was clear as he had to put up with a lot of inconveniences as were shooting deep in the forest. Forget a caravan, there wasn’t even a chair for him to sit. Some of the scenes were shot deep in the forests after Pooyamkutty. We had to travel in a jeep for about 90 minutes and then trek for another half an hour to reach the location. Lal sir was part of the team and trekked with all of us to reach the location.
Most of your films have been multi-starrers with huge canvases. What is special about Pulimurugan ?
Believe it or not, Lal sir had agreed to do this film even before I turned director with Pokkiri Raja . But he had many commitments to finish and so I went ahead with other assignments. That is why it took so long for us to start work on the movie. My filmography includes flicks that have been complete entertainers with a lot of colour and action. This is also an action thriller with plenty of laughs and emotional drama but unlike, say, Mallu Singh or Pokkiri Raja , the colour palette in this film is subdued and realistic. Pulimurugan lives in a village almost wholly inside a forest and so we had to keep that in mind. To keep it as real as possible, the colour tone of the scenes is earthy, mainly greens, browns and subtle yellows.
What is the story about?
It is about a hunter called Pulimurugan who lives in this village that is often the hunting ground of predators from the forest. For the villagers, the animals are a threat to their lives and so there are frequent confrontations between the animals and the people. Pulimurugan has developed his own method of hunting the animal and there is a deep and visceral connect between the hunter and the hunted.
So how did Mohanlal develop the character of Pulimurugan?
He is truly a natural actor who becomes the character once the camera is switched on. He is not a method actor who thinks and develops his character and scene in his mind before he enacts it for the camera. He becomes Pulimurugan once he enters the frame. For the same reason, he cannot repeat a take because, in his case, each take is different. At the end of the day, it is difficult to choose which take to choose for editing and, similarly, when he is in the frame, it is difficult to call ‘cut’ because he continues to emote as long as he is in the frame. It was an unforgettable experience to watch the actor at work. Peter Hein has reportedly worked closely with Mohanlal and the other actors for the action scenes. So all action aficionados are waiting eagerly for the movie….
There are some thrilling action sequences that are closely woven in with the story. The only scenes for which we did some kind of rehearsals were for the action scenes. We had to decide where the actors would jump and land, where the ropes would come in…fine details like that.
It must have been a Herculean task to film scenes involving tigers and leopards.
The plan was to use graphics but then we decided to shoot in South Africa. However, that did not work out well and so we tried in Vietnam. Finally, a major chunk of the scenes involving animals were filmed in Thailand. It was a test of patience and we had stayed in Thailand for nearly a month. Animals are moody and we had to wait for ages to capture the scenes we wanted.
What is new on the anvil?
Since I had been immersed in Pulimurugan , there are quite a few projects that are hanging fire. I plan to take a week to decide which project to begin with.
