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'There is no difference between one film and the other today'
K Bhagyaraj believes he has his finger on the audiences' pulse with his new film
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In the eighties, filmmaker K Bhagyaraj was the toast of the Tamil film industry. All his films clicked at the box-office. The characters he created, his brand of subtle humour (double entendre too!) were big hits with the masses. Slowly there came a period when people started moving away from such social dramas to mindless violence and action.
Soon, there were no takers for the kind of social satirical dramas that Bhagyaraj created. Like many others of his period, he too moved to the small screen.
The last film that Bhagyaraj made was
Vettiya Madichu Kattu, which did not succeed at the box-office. That was three-and-a-half years ago. Now, after a long gap, October 18 saw Bhagyaraj started shooting for his new feature film titled Sokka Thangam.
Bhagyaraj has also written the story, screenplay and dialogues for the film. G V Films which has made films like Dalapathy, Indira, May Madham, Thamizhan and the recent Aey Nee Romba Azhaga Irrukke, is producing the film. Bhagyaraj plans to release Sokka Thangam for the Pongal festival.
Acting opposite Vijayakanth in the film is Soundarya (the producer and actor of this year's National Award-winning Kannada film
Dweepa). She had acted with Vijayakanth in Thavasi.
Bhagyaraj talks to Shobha Warrier about his new film.
You are directing a film after a long gap.
Yes. This time, I will be there only behind the scene, as a writer-director. I will not act in my film, as I used to earlier.
Many successful directors of the eighties do not seem to be making films these days. This phenomenon is not confined to Tamil alone. Do you think the taste of the audience has changed in the last decade?
In my case, I stopped making films due to financial problems. I am aware of what is happening today. I do not live in the past. Young filmmakers have been in touch with me constantly.
I would be toying with some idea or the other all the time. That is why when I was asked to make a film by G V Films, I could immediately give the producer a story idea. My mind is always flooded with ideas.
What, according to you, are the changes that have taken place in the outlook of the people?
There are more young romantic films and action films today. There is no variety at all in the storyline. What is the difference between one film and the other?
You see a lot of remakes also these days. If a film is successful in Telugu or Malayalam, they are remade here. There is no harm in that because it is like a circle. There was a time almost all my films were remade into Hindi and Telugu.
If you give a good strong story, people will like it. What you make should be different. A film like Vaanathepol was successful because it was different.
Take for example, Kaasi. (remade from the Malayalam original Vaasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njanum). It is not like the films that you see today. The characters are poor. The hero is blind. They suffer a lot. There is no gloss or glamour in the film yet the film became successful. Why? Because it touched a chord somewhere, it had a very touching story.
So, if you give the audience a good film, they will like it. The characters should be strong. There should be humour in the situations. The dialogues should be catchy. You need emotion. There should be logic in the situations. If these ingredients are not there, the film will not be successful. The problem is, there is no variety in the storyline these days. All the films look alike. That is why they are not successful.
Is the lack of a strong storyline the main reason for the films to bomb at the box office?
People have become choosy these days unlike in the past. Earlier, films were the only entertainment that people had. Now, there are so many television channels and they show many entertainment programs free.
It has become very expensive to go to a theatre too. Is it not difficult for a family to spend Rs 300 to Rs 400 for a film? So, they prefer sitting at home and watching television. Only if they are very sure about a film, they go to a theatre.
Cots of production and budget for a film have also increased tremendously these days. You cannot criticise actors alone for the increase in the cost of production. They are getting more money because there are people to give them! According to me, all this is responsible for the situation that the film industry is in now.
Your dialogues had become very popular. Today's films do not seem to have such strong and unforgettable dialogues.
True. Even today, people tell me one of the dialogues that I wrote for the climax scene of Antha Ezhu Naalkal (Woh Saath Din in Hindi). It is like this, "My love may become your wife but your wife will never be my love."
If the story is powerful and the sequences good, the dialogues will stay in your mind. If the films do not have a strong storyline, you will not remember the dialogues.
Are you excited about making a feature film after a long gap?
I have always been here as a part of the industry. It is not that I was doing something else and not making films. I had been involved in creating stories. I do not want to divulge the storyline. It is a family drama with some action. With Vijayakanth, action is a must. But I assure you that the action in my film will be logical.
Even though I am not there in the film, the Tamil audience will see me in the first scene itself.