He is busy with the last-minute work on his latest film Anjaan, which he and his brother N Subash Chandra Bose are releasing through their banner Thirrupathi Brothers, but once director Lingusamy sits down for an interview, he opens up on the film, his fascination with action films, and his career blues…
Apart from Anandham and probably Ji, every one of your film has gangsters in one form or the other. What’s your fascination with them?
I’ve been attracted to action since childhood. My favourite character in the Mahabharata is Bheema. I love the episode where he fights and kills Keechaka. As a little boy, before going to a film, I used to enquire how many fight sequences it had. Also, I’m a Rajini fan. In Sandakozhi, there is a scene where Vishal starts drumming his fingers in anticipation of a fight. That character is me. During my college days, I used to enquire about the rowdies in my town and go and get their acquaintance — I’ve even been involved in a few scuffles. Naturally, Udhayam, Nayagan, Baasha and The Godfather are among my favourite films, though I also equally love Uthiri Pookkal, Varusham 16 and Roman Holiday. I still like both these kinds of cinema — if I see The Godfather 50 times, I’ll see Roman Holiday also 50 times.
Doesn’t that slot you as a filmmaker who does only one kind of films?
After Run, people started expecting a certain kind of film from me. In fact, I used to remark to my friends, ‘Close panna shutterkulla naane lock aagiten’. Audiences started saying my films have good action sequences and, I began thinking of how differently I can conceive action scenes. And, I started getting scared that if I make an out-and-out romance they might reject it. Also, I apprehensive that if I throw caution to the winds and go and make a film I want to, I won’t command the same impact if I do an action film again. Even Rajini sir couldn’t act in a film like Mullum Malarum after a point of time as fans wanted him to be larger-than-life. It is to feed the rasigan in myself that I back films like Vazhakku Enn 18/9, Kumki and even the recent Sathuranka Vettai with my production house. I still have a few more heroes to cross off my list — Vijay, and if possible, Rajini sir, Mahesh Babu, Ram Charan and Pawan Kalyan in Telugu and maybe, another film with Suriya. Once that happens, I’ll do a tender romantic film. I think I’ll have to tune audiences here before making such a film. Or, maybe, I will go and do it in Bollywood.
Does that mean you are making these action films out of compulsion?
Not at all. The films that I do are not something I make only because the audience likes them. I love to watch these films myself. In fact, I keep making action films, fine-tuning myself with each film, in the hope that one day I might make something like a Sholay or a Deewar. I also love shooting these movies and make them with the same sincerity as someone who is making an artistic film. That is why I will always be present throughout the filming of stunts and songs. I’ll not delegate that work to the stunt master or the dance choreographer and chill out. The lead up to the fight is important, yes, but the fight is also important; ovvoru adiyum kooda mukkiyam.
Anjaan is about a gangster. So, how different is it from other gangster films?
The gangster element here is just a backdrop. This story is more about friendship, romance and twists and turns. Raju Bhai is more than a gangster and the film isn’t a realistic depiction of gangsters’ lives. Raju Bhai is from the underworld and so, the film had to be set in Mumbai. Otherwise, its world is totally make-believe. The knot occurred to me when I was shooting Paiyya. During the break, I told Karthi, ‘If I were to direct you and your brother together, the story line would go like this: You come in search of your brother and every person you come across speaks of him with awe and fear’. This one-line is what has now become Anjaan with Suriya playing the two roles. There is this dialogue in Sathuranka Vettai: ‘Naama solra poila ore oru thuli unmai irukkanum’. While the film is completely fictional, to make the world believable, I gave Suriya a book on the Mumbai dons just to help him ‘get’ the role and get into that mood. Also, Suriya is the kind of actor who likes to portray his character as realistically as possible.
So, what made you decide to do the film with Suriya alone?
When it was decided that Suriya and I will make a film together, I started narrating scripts to him. Like the fairy in Aesop’s fable, I kept narrating stories one after the other but like the woodcutter, he kept saying ‘This is not mine’ — even when I showed him the gold one! And, suddenly, I remembered the one-line story I’d told Karthi. So, in one week, I discussed with my team and readied a proper script. I gave a one-and-a-half-hour narration to Suriya and when I finished, he said, ‘This is what I was looking for’. That seemed like a sign from above for me to go into this project without any doubts. It’s a script written specifically for Suriya. He has done hero-centric films but they were about characters — Ghajini was about an amnesiac, Ayan a smuggler, and Singam a cop. I wanted to make a film where his very presence on screen should have fans clapping and whistling — Vijay had such a film in Pokkiri while Ajith had Billa. I wanted Anjaan to be that film for Suriya. So, I’ve made the film in such a way so that his scenes have pep and style.