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'When your film is not accepted, God! It is like dying'

Vasanth. Click for bigger pic!

Vasanth is one hot name in the Tamil film industry now. Most of his films, among them Keladi Kanmani, Aasai and Nerukku Ner, were big hits. He was busy giving final touches to his two new films, Poovellam Kettupar (with Soorya and Jyotika) and Rhythm (with Arjun and Meena) when I met him in his editing room. Both films to be released in summer. Excerpts from the interview with Shobha Warrier:

I have heard that you were a journalist once and one of your assignments was to meet K Balchander to write a series of articles on him and that after the assignment, you became his assistant. Is it really true or just a fable?

Oh, what you have heard is hundred per cent true. Even when I was studying in college, I used to write short stories and articles regularly. I used to interview people for the Indian Express.

Were you interested in movies then?

It wouldn't be right on my part to say that I wanted to be a film director from childhood, and planned everything accordingly. No, no, there was nothing of that sort. My ambition was to become a great writer like Sujatha. Greater writers like Jayakanthan, T Janakiraman and Ashokamitran, were my inspirations.

Have you stopped writing short stories once you came into movies?

Almost. It isn't possible to do it now.

Do you feel sad about it?

No, not at all. I enjoy what I am doing now and above all I am going experience, learning about life. I meet at least a hundred people every day in my work, all of them different in their own ways. I am sure I will be bale to make use of what I am gaining later. I am being a part of life, I feel.

A still from Poovellam Kettupar. Click for bigger pic!

Do you look at film-making as a creative work, an extension of creative writing?

Of course, it's hundred per cent a creative work. To me, this is another medium through which I can tell stories. And for all my films, I myself write the story, screenplay and dialogues. That fulfils my urge to write too.

Do you experience the feelings of each and every character of yours -- their happiness, their agonies and their pains -- when you write a screenplay?

I'm an emotional person. When I watch movies, like Mahanadi, the feelings of the characters move me so much that I even cry at times. The same way, I also live the lives of all my characters when I write. I may not cry when I write it but I feel for them. I know everything about my characters because they are my creations.

I know where they are born, I know their parents and their relatives and where they work. Those details may not be relevant for the film but I know everything about my characters.

When the emotions of your own characters move you, do you feel confident that it will strike a chord with the viewers too?

One can never predict the likes and dislikes of the audience. And, when I am writing a story, I do not think about the viewers or anybody else. Yes, the story the characters and their feelings should satisfy me first. I have set certain restrictions on me. I will not write about certain things because I don't believe in them. So, I will proceed only if the story satisfies me. If it satisfies me, it may satisfy the viewers too. But there is no guarantee about that.

You said you would not write about certain things. What are those 'certain things'?

A still from Rhythm. Click for bigger pic!

Everybody follows certain norms or principles in his or her life. I too believe in certain things. Let me tell you a very rudimentary idea: I believe that a good person shouldn't be punished in life and a bad person should punished for his sins.

Likewise, I don't believe in polygamy, so you will not see any of my characters indulging in polygamy. They will never have two wives. I believe in women's rights. I believe that they should be given equal status in the society. So, in all my films, women are treated on par with men.

I follow certain convictions and beliefs in my life but they are my convictions. I do not know whether my viewers will accept all my ideas. But I shouldn't be bothered about it much, should I?

So, even if the opinion of the public is different from yours, you will stick to your convictions.

Of course, I will stick to my convictions but, let me admit, I WON'T be adamant. Let me put it this way: I will not do anything, which I don't like, which I don't believe in. For example, I make commercial movies and there are songs in my films. Songs are there in my films not because the viewers want it but because I like songs and I enjoy picturising and watching them. So I amn't compromising when I picturise songs.

Does that mean you will not compromise at all to make your films commercially successful?

I will not do anything that I don't like. I don't believe in doing something for somebody. If I start making compromises just to please the audience, where are my convictions, where are my beliefs?

Many film-makers say that since film-making is a very expensive business, they have to make compromises so that their films will work in the market. Do you consciously think about the market when you make a film?

We have to think of the market when we are in this business. Films are commercial products. So success in the market is very, very important. But I make only decent films without any obscenity. I can confidently say that.

What is more important in a film, craft, story or the soul?

A story without a soul is unattractive. A soul alone cannot make a story. So, both are very important. But... a story with just a soul is not enough because this is a visual medium. You need good craft and good technique to make the story a success. All the three ingredients are very important but the ratio in which they are present in films varies. It all depends on the sensibility of the film-maker.

A still from Poovellam Kettupar. Click for bigger pic!

Let us go back to my first question. How did you become K Balachander's assistant?

I was on an assignment to write a series of articles on K Balachander. That was how I met him. I had watched all his films before I met him itself, and need I say I was a fan of his. I was never a movie buff but I was a little crazy about K Balachander's films because his characters breathed life.

The assignment was a great opportunity for me to meet the person I admired. He made the kind of films that I like. I liked only films that have a good and strong story content. That was why I liked the films of Sivaji and not those of MGR.

Okay, my assignment was to interview K Balachander but soon I was discussing his films with him at a personal level. Soon after I completed my graduation, I joined as an assistant.

Did you ask him, or he asked you to join him?

(Shocked) Of course, I asked him! God! It is not easy to become an assistant to Sri K Balachander! But somehow he accepted my request immediately. Our first film was Poykkal Kuthirai.

Till then you had only watched movies in theatres. How was the new experience of making a film, being behind the camera?

It was pretty tough. I didn't understand what was happening there. In fact, I felt so bad that I even thought of quitting the job. Believe me, it took me two films to get the grasp of film-making.

You are a successful film-maker now. What did you find so tough about film-making then?

See, he is such a great director and his expectations of a movie are very high. To understand and reach his wavelength wasn't very easy. I was only 20 or 21 then. When young men of my age were going to see pretty girls, I was doing a tough job!

It's another matter that I was not interested in standing outside the gates of women's colleges; I was only interested in films. But then it took me some time to understand the intricacies of the medium. I always try hard. I won't rest unless I succeed in my job. And this burning desire to be at the top had always been there in me. To quote an unknown person: 'I don't mind falling, but I want to fall forward only.'

Do you feel bad when a creation of yours isn't accepted by the people?

A still from Rhythm. Click for bigger pic!

Yes. I feel terribly bad even though I know very well that it is not possible to hit the jackpot all the time. The failure of my film affects me like the death of a close person. Making a film is not that easy. You live the movie for such a long time, you give your body and soul to the film and when it is not accepted. God! It is like dying. I am very attached to all my films. So, it hurts very badly when it does not succeed.

How do you overcome the grief?

What do you do when you lose somebody very close to you? Life has to continue. So, I tell myself that one failure is not the end of life. But it takes sometime to come out of the grief.

Do you feel very elated when a film of yours becomes a big hit?

You may find it surprising but the intensity of happiness is not the same as the intensity of grief. It is much, much less. More than that, before the success of your film sinks in, you start worrying about the next film. It may sound funny, but it is the truth.

My Aasai was a big hit but then I had no time to feel happy, as I was busy recording the songs of my next film,Nerukku Ner. You can aim for 100 marks when you get 90 or 95. But once you get 100, what can you aim for? 150? 200? Then it will become an obsession with you. That is not good. Success of a film is important because it is a commercial product. But you shouldn't obsessed with it.

My first film, Keladi Kanmani, ran for 207 days. Then I got the feeling that I knew everything about film-making. See it is not very easy to handle success. Even though I put in an extra effort into my second film Nee Paathi, Naan Paathi, it was only an average success. I felt very sad and bad.

When your second film didn't do well, did you look back to find out where exactly you went wrong?

I did only that. I analysed everything, every minute thing about my film, writing down all the details in a book. Believe me, it ran into not one book but three notebooks. Then I compared those details with my first film. I think I learnt a lot from the non-success of Nee Paathi, Naan Paathi.

How do you feel when you complete a movie of yours? Jittery? Or do you keep it aside and forget all about it? Or do you have a sigh of relief and say, now that it is over, I can relax.

Tension, tension and tension. That's what I feel. The result of your examination is to be announced tomorrow. How do you feel today? That is how you feel when a movie of yours gets ready for release. You are very near the release of your film but you have no idea how it will be received.

A still from Poovellam Kettupar. Click for bigger pic!

In June, children are happy because they are going to a new class. You have new books, a new pencil box, a new bag, a new uniform etc.

It's a time that they are full of excitement. But by March, as the final exam approaches, they are under tension. My feelings as a film-maker are also like that.

When I start a new film, I am like a child who is going to his new class. When the film is ready for release, I'm like a child going to face his final examination.

What do you do to come out of the tense moments?

I try not to think about it. (Laughs.) I go to my native place and forget all about the release of the film. It is great to hear some good news when you come back to the city after a few days.

You generally take new faces in all your movies. Any particular reason?

There is a challenge in taking new or raw persons and moulding them into actors. It is like writing a new script. Somebody has to take new faces and make them into actors. I thought I would do it just like my guru K Balachander does. If everyone wants to go behind those who have a good market, how will new people get into this field? I take it as a challenge to make actors out of raw persons.

Like sculpting an image from a mass of clay?

Exactly. It gives me tremendous pleasure even though it is a lot easier to work with experienced hands. But to me working with new persons is a challenge, which I enjoy.

As a film-maker, do you think you have a responsibility to society?

I know I have a responsibility to the society like anyone in the public eye. I know that, directly or indirectly, knowingly or unknowingly, we affect the minds of the people. So, we have to be extremely careful.

But some creative people say that they are not the torchbearers of society and that they have the freedom to say or write whatever they want.

No, I don't agree with them at all. Call it art for art sake. But I am making a film for the people to see. They come to the theatre, pay money and see the film. So, I should think of them. But when I am making an art film, it is a different matter.

Vasanth. Click for bigger pic!

You talked about art films and commercial films. What kind of films do you enjoy watching?

I enjoy watching both art and commercial films. For example, Balchander's Aval Appadithan is not a mainstream film but that was one film I enjoyed the most. I like Mahanadi, Thevar Magan, Moodram Pirai, Uthiri Pookkal, Azhiyatha Kolangal... All of Mani Ratnam's films... At present, I am making only mainstream films.

I am not making any art films, though I am interested in making one of them one day. I may make it or I may not. You see, if I want to make an art film, I should equip myself, I should learn more.

Why? Do you feel the so-called art films are superior to the mainstream films?

No. I don't feel that way at all. Those are just two types of films, and I will not call one type superior and the other inferior. You can compare them to engineering and chartered accountancy. For example, I am engineer but I practise chartered accountancy. I will not be able to do so unless I learn it.

I don't think that it is a sin to make a film for the market. You can make films for a majority audience and also for a minority audience. But it is not a sin to make films for a majority.

Almost all your films are big hits. Is it a difficult task to live up to expectations all the time?

It is a difficult task but I wanted it this way. You can call it a sweet challenge.

Vasanth's photographs: Sreeram Selvaraj