Interview With

Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi

Vanakkam Chennai released in 2013 was Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi's maiden directorial venture and the talented filmmaker is ready with her second, Kaali, wherein Vijay Antony will be playing the role of the hero, producer and also music composer. The film will be hitting the marquee this Friday, the 18th. In her busy schedule, Kiruthiga takes time to talk to Jyothsna Bhavanishankar for MovieCrow.com about the film.

Your first film Vanakkam Chennai was a rom-com. How would Kaali be?

Kaali will have the right mix of family, action, drama and romantic elements.

There are four heroines in the film. Would it be a woman-centric subject?

It will be more on human relationships centric. One cannot determine this by the screen space but it is more script driven. Vijay Antony is someone who chooses unique scripts. In that sense, script is the pivot here.

Why did you choose the title Kaali?

It was Vijay Antony who chose this title. There is a character by name Kaali in the film. While I was narrating the script to him, he said, "namma pada title Kaali". I don't know why he chose this title. He has his own reasons. We all know that his film titles are different and quirky. Therefore, when he said that the title is Kaali, I neither questioned nor contradicted him as I know he is the best when it comes to titles. But we needed to justify the title and hence had to make certain changes in the script.

However, getting the title was a little difficult because many people warned us against using it as we were told about the difficulties and troubled times people who had that title faced. But neither Vijay Antony nor I believe in superstitions and hence we decided to go with it and face whatever comes out of it. That's the story behind the title Kaali.

How did Vijay Antony's association with this project happen? Did you approach him for a producer or for actor?

I can say both. Kaali is a subject for a mass hero. When I saw Pichaikaaran, I felt Vijay Antony would be suitable for my script both as a hero and producer. I had lot of troubles trying to get my script out because of my political background and also because of me being a producer's wife. These two factors were disadvantageous to me in this subject. At that time, Udhay was also facing a lot of problems with censors, in procuring certificate, getting tax exemptions etc. Even if people wanted to do a film with me, these things would have biased their decision then. Vijay Antony did not even give these things a thought and also on two counts- one, I am a woman director and second, my political affiliation. He never thought about these things. He is a very straight forward person.

I took his appointment and narrated two stories. He did not show interest in my first story but liked my sensibility and narration. So he gave a chance to me again and that's when I told the story of Kaali. It was this script that he liked. The first one was a crime thriller which he has been doing and so he did not want to do a similar story again. He wanted something different, and when I was half way into narrating the second script, he agreed to do.

How will Vijay Antony's role be different in Kaali from his earlier films?

It will be completely different. Hitherto, he was doing dark, pathos roles. In my story it will be a different dimension. Each character he plays will be different

Do you mean to say he plays multiple characters?

That is something you have to go and see. He does come in four different shades. That's what I can tell you at this point.

Tell us something about Vijay Antony as the music composer

He was very accommodative. I am also very particular and finicky about how my songs should be. In Vanakkam Chennai, I got the best songs. For me, songs are very important and I like to conceptualize them. He gave few songs but I wanted something else. He could have put down his foot and said "I am the producer and music director, so please listen to me". But he did not. He also respected my vision for the songs and gave me a couple of options. That's how Arumbae and Yugam Noorai came in.

Can you tell us about your lady cast members?

I have admired Anjali and Sunaina for a long time. They are very good artists. When the story had four heroines, I wanted Anjali and Sunaina to do one role each. I offered Anjali one role but she was not keen on that but took up another one. I just wanted her in my film, that's all. Same thing goes with Sunaina also whose role is pivotal. The other two artists Shilpa and Amritha, were also very enthusiastic. When you see the film, you will realize how serious they are towards their profession. There was an intense scene which Shilpa had to enact and from morning, she became serious and got into the skin of the character. She was very dedicated. It was very nice to have worked with upcoming artists who are enthusiastic and dedicated towards their profession.

Did your family members see the film?

Udhay saw the film and he really liked it. He jocularly remarked that I could have done this under Red Giant banner. I would say that was a compliment. My parents-in-law have not seen the film. They said they will come to the theatre on the first day to watch it.

What would you call the highlight of Kaali?

It has been a while in Tamil films that we got to see a good family drama. Many horror or crime thriller or adult films have been coming. There aren't many films to which children can be taken to, at least, in the recent past. So Kaali would fill that void and it would definitely be a family outing in this summer vacation. You can go to the film, laugh, cry and connect with the characters as a family.

What is your next project?

My next is going to be a futuristic script, I would say; slightly, female centric. It is very exciting and I hope it will click for me. I have started pitching it. I am waiting for Kaali to release. I had written this script when I was waiting for Kaali to take off. Script wise, it is ready. Let's see.

Would this script have your husband?

No, I don't think so. We both are not planning to do anything together at the moment. We are very spontaneous that way. In future, if I do write something and he likes it and decides to do, it might happen.

Best wishes Kiruthiga and Kaali team!