The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : “Like any director, my future is unpredictable”

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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

“Like any director, my future is unpredictable”

— Photo: K. Pichumani

Mysskin.

His directorial debut ‘Chithiram pesudhadi’ received critical acclaim for its taut screenplay and logical storyline. But, it was the action-packed ‘Anjaadhe’ that helped him

join the band of successful directors of Kollywood. Now all set to release his third movie, where he also plays the lead role, Mysskin talks to S. Aishwarya about the making of ‘Nandhalala’ and his passion for filmmaking.

“I chose films because I had no other job options left,” Mysskin says with a chuckle. When engineering and marketing didn’t help much to make a living, he turned towards the film industry. After working as an assistant director to Kadhir and Vincent Selva in a handful of films, he scripted ‘Chithiram pesudhadi,’ a perfect mix of action and romance.

Lady Luck smiled on him through the song ‘Vaalameenukum’ that topped the charts and drew the attention of people to his maiden venture. “I spotted ‘Gana’ Ulaganathan, the singer, eight years ago when he was scouting for a chance. The folk element in the song was so strong that I asked my music director to orchestrate the song without spoiling the flavour. It did a lot to my movie’s success,” he says.

On similar lines was ‘Anjaadhe’ that rocked the box-office with the song ‘Kathazha kannala.’

Will ‘Nandhalala’ also run on the same lines? “Music is a key element in this movie. Ilayaraja has infused life into the lyrics and the songs are predominantly melodious.” The songs, Mysskin says, carry the movie forward.

Long wait

The script of ‘Nandhalala’ had a longer wait. When Mysskin decided to make the movie after ‘Chithiram pesudhadi,’ actors weren’t too keen on signing for the project. Even after ‘Anjaadhe,’ the director had to tackle tepid responses in view of the storyline. That made him face the camera, even if meant wielding the megaphone, too. It portrays the journey of two people from entirely different backgrounds in search of their mothers. “The story mainly deals with a seven-year-old boy, who lives with his grandmother. He goes in search of his mother and bumps into a mentally challenged person who had escaped from an asylum to find his mother.”

The story captures their subtle emotions and gains momentum as they near their destinations. The inspiration grew out of a few Russian books and a real-life experience, which the director promises to reveal after the movie is released.

Mysskin is all praise for the young performer Ashwath Ram, who plays the seven-year-old. “He is a prodigy. We spotted him in a screen test and are happy with our choice.” While Rohini plays the mother of Mysskin, the name of the actor playing the role of the kid’s long-lost mother is a well-kept secret.

A distinctive feature of his movies is the chaste Tamil titles. “I wanted my movie titles to hint at the storyline. ‘Chithiram pesudhadi,’ which means lie, goes well with the movie since the main characters fib quite often. ‘Anjaadhe’ was a story about a fearless young man. ‘Nandhalala’ means music and the word sounds like a lullaby, which is precisely what the movie is all about.”

Mysskin has already got his hands busy with the next project. The shoot of Surya-starrer ‘Mugamudi,’ depicting the saga of a super hero, will begin in August. “I have six to seven scripts on hand, but, like any director, my future is unpredictable.”

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