Producer Michael Rayappan opens up about his film journery, the AAA debacle, his upcoming film Kee and lots more

Producer Michael Rayappan is a well known name within the fraternity of the film business. Apart from being the head honcho of his banner Global Infotainment Pvt Ltd, he is a successful politician as well (He is an incumbent MLA representing Vijaykanth's DMDK party). Though his son, Seraphin Raya Xavier has taken over the reigns under his father's guidance, Rayappan continues to be the decision maker of the thriving production house. On a leisure afternoon, we catch up with the otherwise busy producer about his journey so far, the much-talked about AAA debacle, his upcoming projects and more.

You are a successful producer as well as a politician. How has the journey been so far?

First and foremost I am a producer. So films and production come first to me. I own a studio at Mumbai and since the 90s we've been exporting telivision content in all Indian languages for cable users. Then came satellite facilitities and I moved on to films.

Nadodigal and Then Merku Paruvakaatru were delivered in consecutive years. But it took a while for your banner to give a film like Eeti...

Yes, I was elected an MLA in the year 2011. People had placed their trust and voted for me. So I couldn't leave that and take care of my own business. Film productions definitely saw a standstill but only for 2 years. I did produce Pattathu Yaanai (Vishal) and Oru Oorla Rendu Raja (Vimal) before Eeti.

There have been hints of sequel to both Miruthan and Anbanavan Asaradhavan Adangadhavan. Will they be from Global Infotainment?

Director Shakthi Soundar Rajan and Jayam Ravi are currently busy with Tik Tik Tik. So we plan to do the sequel post that. As far as AAA is concerned, I will definitely not be producing the sequel.

There were a lot of controversies that shrouded AAA - like there were talks of shooting delays, a legal stay against the release of the film, etc. How do you think such news affects / effects the business of a film?

I would like to clarify that there was no legal stay or anything. And I do not believe in negative publicity. When a false news is perputated to boost the business of a film, its equivalent to cheating one's audience. It is enough if one sticks to marketing the content of their film instead. Also when such news is published, it questions the credibility of whoever is associated with the film.

You have never repeated a team - be it the faces of your film or the technical crew. Is this conscious?

It all depends on the script for me. Right from Nadodigal, all my script choices have been unique and different. We have banked on genres like sentiment (Aadupuli), sound pollution (OORR), sports (Eeti), zombies (Miruthan) and technology (Kee). If I get lucky, I get a good team along with a good script. Othertimes the desired output is not achieved like in the case of AAA (smiles).

You mentioned Kee is a technology related film. Can you tell us more about it?

Kee talks about the issues of hacking in this computerized world. Commoners generally do not have an idea of what the hackers are capable of. Kee will give us a true insight into it how hackers turn people into technological puppets and benefit out of it.

Including Kalees (director of Kee), you have worked with many first-time directors. How do you go about working with debutants?

It is definitely a lot of risk. Normally, big producers do not take that risk. I rely on the script completely and make my jugdgements based on the narration as well. Also my first film Nadodigal gave me the confidence that my instincts and judgements were more or less right for a film.

Do you think the recent tussle between FEFSI and the producers' council could have been handled more amicably?

If there is an issue, it is better to get to the bottom of it and come up with a once-and-for-all solution. As a producer, its my opinion that brushing it off amicably could re-ignite the problem sooner or later.

What is your take on the newly revised procedures of the censor board? Do you think online registration is resulting in release delays?

With every new procedure, pratical difficulties are bound to come. These are the teething problems. The technical issues can be overcome only over time but CBFC could consider taking steps like increasing the work-force for improving the end-numbers. Having said that, if one knows the loopholes, getting your work done on the right time isn't a big deal. I had my last film censored with 7-10 days which came as a surprise to many.

Vishal, Simbu, Jayam Ravi, Atharvaa - Who according to you is the most bankable actor?

Every film of mine has been made with the intention of running successfully. And after each film of mine, the actors have only gone ahead to do well in their careers. So I cannot pick just one (smiles).

What are your other upcomin projects apart from Kee?

We are teaming up with Atharvaa Murali for the second time and Darling director Sam Anton for our next film. We plan to start the shooting from 1st week of September and release it by December this year.