Defending violence
MALATHI RANGARAJAN
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Selvaraghavan defends the gore in his latest film, `Pudhupettai.'
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Director Selvaraghavan
Director Selvaraghavan appears to be made of mature stuff, as he fields each of your posers with equanimity — far from the aggressive image of his hero in `Pudhupettai.' "Call him the main character, not the hero. He's an anti-hero," are his opening lines of defence, as you quiz him on the overdose of violence dished out in his latest film. "At no point have I glorified him as a Robin Hood, who offers succour to the needy. I've just showcased a kind of person for whom values, ethics and morals hardly matter. With a backdrop of this kind, projecting violence is inevitable."
But the bone of contention in director Selvaraghavan's `Pudhupettai' — in which the sabre-wielding hero takes to butchery like a fish to water — is the excessive bloodletting on screen.
Going by what we come across in the media on the increasing incidents of violence, is he not worried about the impact his film may have on individuals or groups? . "We have a 10-second disclaimer saying the story and the characters are fictitious. And isn't it time we teach our folks to see a film as just a film?" he asks. "This is the first small step towards taking Tamil cinema to the next level."
So does he maintain that cutthroats like `Kokki' Kumar, `Pudhupettai's hero, can eventually become influential people? "You are seeing the end as rosy. I see the means as miserable. Kumar loses his wife in a fracas, drops his child in a roadside bin [Which father can suffer that ordeal? Even Dawood Ibrahim, you hear, had a flamboyant marriage for his daughter], then he loses a hand and leg, is thrown into an isolated cell, becomes a lunatic in the bargain and finally finds a hold in politics. Will anyone wish to undergo the turmoil Kumar goes through?" Selva's justification goes on.
He turns rhetorical when he says: "Every parent will want his son to be well-educated. None would ever wish him to become a politician. Actually, here freedom of expression is very limited, and within the ambit we try to convey what we can."
People's verdict
Selva is elated with the box office result of `Pudhupettai.' "A record 162 prints have been made, the film is going full house in all the theatres in the city 10 days after its release. The first week's collection itself will cover 50 per cent of the production cost. The A and B centres are doing brisk business. Though in C, as is always the case, fortunes keep fluctuating. The distributor's share in the first week was Rs.50 lakhs" — he reels out details.
In that case it's Selva's fourth hit in a row in Tamil. "Yes. If my film doesn't do well I'll come out with it. I can frankly tell you that the dubbed version in Telugu has not done well. That's because the culture, mindset and the political scene in Andhra are quite different from what we see here. And I'm aware that I can't keep giving a hit every time," he says with a self-effacing smile.
`Pudhupettai' was in the making for too long. "And I'm blamed for it," Selva grins sardonically. "New technical expertise has come into play in the film. The Super 35 digital format we went in for, involved five months of lab work. No regrets, because the final output is amazing."
Still, to see the hero of a film so casually and callously sticking knives into people in every other scene is a bit too much to stomach. "My next in Tamil with Vijay [besides a Telugu film and `7/G, Rainbow Colony,' in Hindi] will be a light romantic caper. I'm sure you'll like it," he quips.
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