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Photo: S. James

Shrewd Director Vetrimaran is street smart

The film has left many critics dumbfounded. Many refuse to believe that this is Vetrimaran’s maiden directorial venture. His professionalism has left the cash registers ringing ever since.

It took three years of hard work to make the film. “It was not easy to zero in on this storyline. I have known Dhanush from “Adhu Oru Kanakkaalam” days when I worked with him. We became good friends and he wanted me to direct his next film. I was a bit nervous initially. I had to find a story that will suit Dhanush. Today, we are really happy that our perseverance is reaping rich dividends,” gushes Vetrimaran.

The movie has caught the attention of the viewers for its realistic portrayal of characters and sequences.

Though the main theme of the film resembles Italian neo realistic movie Ladri di biciclette (Bicycle Thieves), “Pollathavan” does differ a lot in the story treatment and screen sequences.

“People have told me about the similarities. I got the idea from a friend who went in search of his lost motorcycle only to find it buried in the beach. He told me he had to excavate the motorcycle from the ground. That was the knot, which attracted me and I wove the story around it. I was determined to keep off the regular quintessential Tamil mainstream film,” he says.

“Each and every sequence was carefully planned and well presented to complement the mood of the story. The tempo is maintained throughout the film and that proved to be its success,” he adds.

The narrative is fresh and distinctly different from other crop of movies released on Deepavali.

“As we progressed with the story, we decided to revolve it around two individuals. But it became tough for us to narrate the story since the scenes had to shift between the two. But our team did a commendable job. The narration, which shifts from one person to the other whenever one happened to move past the other, has fetched me widespread encomiums. Though, we initially had our own apprehension about public acceptance, it has been far more satisfying to see people appreciating our innovative effort.”

Another big plus for the film are its songs, especially the remix of the popular number “engeyum eppothum” from the chartbuster “Ninaithale inikkum”.

“Remix was very popular with audiences and we wanted to have one in our movie. Even before coming to cinema I had the list of songs, which suited best for remix. The top of the list, of course, was this all-time classic. When I suggested this song, everyone agreed about its potential remix component. A lot of credit should also be given to famous pop star Yogi B. We again recorded the song with S.P. Balasubrahmaniam. The remarkable result is here for everyone to see,” he smiles.

Vetrimaran also showers accolades on music director G. V. Prakash Kumar for his excellent compositions. For, “minnalgal koothadum” from the movie has stomped its way to the top 10 songs.

The portrayal of realism has created a big impact among the public, particularly, the scenes involving the don and his group. At one place, the don advises his men to stay away from the public. He even asks his subordinates not to brush with common people.

His strenuous effort came to the fore in the way he directed his team including actors and cinematographer Velraj. But as a genuine creator, he still wants to better his product.

“I always respect feedback. Now I feel that I could have shaped the movie even better to make it more perfect. Luckily, it had the necessary ingredients to attract the audience. I will definitely try to inject all my observations into my next venture,” Vetrimaran promises before signing off.

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