Remember the waves that tablet soda The 2014 film is a simple film but has a lot of heart in its story of teenage boys who are forced to fight back when they are pushed into a corner. The film has established veteran cinematographer Vijay Milton as a filmmaker to keep an eye on. When Milton recalls the film, he compares himself to a 13-year-old boy who was forced to fight back through that film. “It seems like kids make a mistake by taking on so much courage, because I don’t know where I got the courage to start a project like this and how I was able to complete it.”
Milton fondly recalls the time when he was able to bring the text to screen with such accuracy and the passion he saw in the actors and their assistants. “I did not provide them with the basic facilities required for shooting the film. I am saying this because I put up with all that because I had a dream I was chasing, but they did not have to do that. They just followed me blindly.”
Ten years later, Milton is now at a place where he doesn’t have to think twice about getting a caravan for his actors. He makes films for people like Shivarajkumar and Dali Dhananjaya, and the production value is very high. After a delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic – and a line-up of films from production banner Infinity Film Ventures with lead star Vijay Antony – Milton’s Mazhai Pidickatha Manithan It is finally set to release this week.
The title is the first thing that catches your attention – ‘The Man Who Despise Rain’. Milton says he was adamant about this title, and you can understand why. It immediately creates a sense of mystery about the character, which Milton says is a special part of the film. “In fact, Mazhai Pidickatha Manithan is inspired by Equalizer, Starring Denzil Washington. In that film, the mystery behind this main character keeps you hooked, and they give information throughout the film. I tried to do something similar in this film,” he says.
Vijay Antony in a scene from ‘Mazhai Pidikkatha Manithan’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Mazhai Pidickatha Manithan It’s a great title for what Milton wanted, a poetic action movie. And you can see it in all the promo materials that have come out – one character compares the comfort felt for a stranger to the comfort felt in a temple under the protection of an invisible God. Another explains that the purpose of the world lies in our attempts to understand those around us.
These dialogues have a feel of Biblical poetry, which Milton says comes from his fondness for Russian literature. “My father got me into the habit of reading from the age of six or seven, and eventually I stumbled upon translated versions of Russian literature. In those days we would get these big novels in Tamil for as cheap as ₹2. Because they are translated, the way the characters talk in these stories will be a bit Biblical,” Milton explains. He adds that he took creative licence to give the film this flavour.
Milton understands that a section of the Gen-Z audience is instantly turned off by anything emotional or poetic, and labels it a ‘cringe’. “That won’t happen here. I was conscious not to advise anyone to do anything because it could be labelled a ‘cringe’; I just want to interact with the audience on a more mature level, and I’ve tried to be as concise as possible.” One thing Milton would like to change Mazhai Pidickatha Manithan “You won’t see gory fight scenes or gore. Of course, you’ll feel the anger behind the action, but I’ve drawn a line on how we show that anger,” says Milton.
Mazhai Pidickatha Manithan This is also the first film by Milton after working with superstar Shivarajkumar in a 2022 Kannada film BairagiMilton says the experience of working on such a production made him introspect on his filmography and also made him realise how he should change his style to suit the star’s image. “My style is a bit too mundane and realistic. Even when it comes to punch-dialogues, I would prefer to write them in a more natural tone. But when it comes to big stars, it has to be a notch higher, and I have realised that I have failed to do that in my films.”
He admires how big stars like Vijay (with whom he worked as cinematographer), Vikram and Shivarajkumar stay grounded while making films. “They would just sit politely next to the camera and refuse to wait in the caravan until the shot was ready. So handling these stars would be as natural and easy as handling young teenagers tablet soda,
Milton says that Mazhai Pidickatha Manithan Hero Vijay Antony too does not let stardom go to his head. Milton says, “He is someone who clearly understands who he is. If, say, he thinks he is an 8-year-old; if you say he is a 9-year-old he will not agree and if you tell him he is a 7-year-old he will politely disagree. In a field like cinema, this is an admirable quality because people can satisfy your ego or make you feel less than what you are.”
Vijay Antony in a scene from ‘Mazhai Pidikkatha Manithan’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Despite being a filmmaker for nearly 20 years, handling superstars and trying his hand in other regional industries, Milton believes he has not changed as a filmmaker. “For every new film, I take five assistant cameramen and five assistant directors. I give them a notebook and ask them to write down five things I want to improve in myself and five things they want to change in this office. They all tell me that I am always the same.” He explains how the control freak in him never lets him delegate work as he relaxes in the caravan. “I have always been like that. I want everything on set – from the nail on the wall in the background to how the actor’s costume is designed – to be under my supervision. Maybe I want this control because I am both the director and the cinematographer.”
That’s why Milton says he doesn’t have to bear the pressure of directing and cinematography, one more tiring than the other. “I harass the technicians on the set by instructing them to do what I want. I don’t want to do it with another cameraman; that would make me feel like I’m abusing them. Mani Ratnam once said that we have to make the technicians feel that the film is theirs and they will do their best. I struggle to do that.”
But with filmmaking taking up so much of his mind, how does he keep up with the evolution of cameras? “A good artist knows when someone is better than him. Even from an ad or a reel on Instagram, I can tell what the artist has done and what I don’t.” Milton has no qualms about saying that he can’t match the technical proficiency of his counterparts. “My philosophy is different from theirs; I only focus on how my cinematography helps me tell my story well and how well I can present the film to the audience, and not just on how well I can frame the shot.”
When you ask how failure affects a director like him, Milton is quite candid. “Fellow filmmakers will advise you to distance yourself from the film immediately after it gets the censor certificate. But I have never been able to do that; till date, I have not been able to get over the failure of my first directorial, Azhagai Irukkirai Bayamai IrukkirathuIt’s very sad to put your love into something and then not get recognition for it.” He feels that things look relatively better for a cinematographer as the business of film no longer affects the technician’s growth in the industry. “The new-age filmmakers don’t care about box office success but only about what you have done in that film. Craft matters more now.”
