Director Vishnu Vardhan on ‘Nesippaya’, returning to Tamil cinema and writing a contemporary love story

You have done a Telugu film before also. But does working in a Hindi film and getting such exclusivity affect the stories you want to tell?

Wherever I go, I make sure the team works the same way I work. When you’re making a film, you have to be comfortable doing it. with ShershahI stepped out of my comfort zone to do something exciting that tested my limits. It did very well and we feel blessed.

What was it about ‘Nesippaya’ that attracted you the most?

It is a fictional story inspired by several real life incidents that fascinated me. after Shershah, A lot of biopics and military films were made but I did not even make a remake. badgeThe idea is to explore something new and work on a film nesippaya after shershah Was never on the radar. When I saw Akash (late actor Murali’s second son) and really started liking the guy, my producer Sneha and I wanted to do a film with him and created this story. I like a lot of drama in my movies and films nesippayaYou can expect more heavy drama than just love.

Even when most of your films are action-packed gangster dramas, most of them – except the ones starring Ajith – have a passionate love track. Why has this been a genre that you’ve never gotten into despite its strengths?

I’m glad you felt that way; I’ve always thought that romance has never been my forte. As you grow as a filmmaker, you want to try different genres as your sensitivity and understanding towards certain aspects like love and relationships changes. Nesippaya’s The script was created with this in mind and has many layers and intricacies. Trying a love story with drama is new to me.

Love is a story of two souls and although the standards have changed with time, true romance is timeless. In today’s generation, people realize true romance only when they miss it. There is confusion between love and infatuation. It has become easy to break the relationship and walk away, but if they really try to understand and realize the mistakes, then that is true love and nesippaya Talks about him.

Your early films had actors like Arya and Bharat who were in their infancy. 22 years after your debut, what’s it like working with a new group of people?

it’s really great. It doesn’t matter whether I’m working with newcomers or big-league actors; This is the movie you want to make. The fact that I am launching a new actor is more exciting because there are no expectations. It is more challenging and interesting when you are trying something new like introducing a new actor. This fills me with excitement as a director.

How will Akash’s character react to what I go through, how I feel, what I see and who I am today. It’s interesting to write about a character who is trapped in a situation and its ideologies, without any judgment. And when you combine that with a female character who is different from him, that’s where you get to play with conflict. These things are completely based on my understanding of love.

Interestingly, apart from the young lead cast, the film also stars many experienced actors like Prabhu, Sarathkumar, Khushboo and Raja. Your films mostly have ensemble casts, and each character has their own characteristics. How do you bring in such characters organically?

Fifty percent of the work of a character is done when you get the right casting. The remaining part of this comes the performance part. Who else can I find for a dynamic person who doesn’t speak much but displays so much aura than Sarath sir? Similarly, Kalki Koechlin’s character seems to be specially crafted as her role is that of a foreign national of Indian origin who can speak Tamil.

You make sure each character contributes to the film. For example, a friend character in this film is not there just for the sake of it; He’s there to remind the main character that he’s a messed up guy and serve as a catalyst to get him where he wants to go. It’s exciting to give seniors a different, simple and unexpected look; Raja Sir looks very different nesippaya,

At a time when filmmakers want to stick to one genre or style of storytelling, putting a filmmaker like you – who gave ‘Sarvam’ after ‘Billa’ or ‘Yatchan’ after ‘Arrambam’ – in an elite category It is difficult. ,

I see it as an advantage for me because I feel excited whenever someone comes to me with a new idea. Maybe the idea of ​​doing sci-fi excites me. I will never do horror movies because this genre scares me (SmileIt’s about pushing boundaries and exploring yourself without any restrictions; I think that’s how you maintain your identity. When? badge It worked, I could have stuck to that formula of doing a stylish action film but my existence would have been short-lived. As someone who doesn’t know what my next film will be about, it’s not possible to be calculative.

I have gone through a difficult period through which I felt like I had stopped exploring. When I look back, the question that comes to my mind is why I got into this profession in the first place. I soon learned that I did it for the joy of making films.

From songs set in the early 2000s to today’s Instagram reel-ready tracks, how has your musical journey with Yuvan evolved over time?

When I was young, I believed that a film’s music album should be balanced. Over time, I realized that adding meaningless doubles or special numbers is unnecessary. I started paying attention to the story and the songs helped take the story forward. Nesippaya’s The album is very strange as it features only male voices except for one song. Earlier, I would have tried to balance it by adding a duet or a woman’s voice. Giving the film what it needs is enough to try something new.

Your films are known for being attractive and stylish. In which part of the script do you focus on aesthetics?

They occur at the core of thought. The soul of the film will be a tone and a vision of how it can be made. Only once we crack it in the beginning, it gets better as we write and evolves with the script. Each scene has its own mood and dictates the camera movements, while the locations dictate the color tone. I hone my colors and looks and never change them, no matter what happens during the shoot. I’m afraid that changing them during shooting will weaken the material.

I do a lot of preparation and edit my scripts before shooting. This is how I was able to conclude my statement. shershah In 60 days including the battle sequence, and it’s almost the same nesippayaWhen you do the preparation work, you move forward with complete clarity. I have shot that scene in my mind even before going for the shoot. When you’re prepared like this, there’s no room for chaos and filmmaking becomes fun. There is no pressure, just fun.

It’s been 20 years since your sophomore directorial debut and first original screenplay, ‘Arintham Ariyamalam’, hit the theatres. How does it feel looking back at it now?

I didn’t realize that so much had happened and so much time had passed. Right from my first film, my policy has been to give my hundred percent so that I am never left in a position to point fingers. There is no excuse and considering that two of my films have had an average run, I have been made aware of this as well. Going through that phase, I realized that it shouldn’t stop me. I have developed a mindset that I will make films till I die and when I know no one can change that, I don’t need to worry.

You had to work with Salman Khan for a film. what is the status?

That film has been pushed back for a while due to logistical issues. My next film depends on the story I want to tell. I have never had any commitments before and that is why I am unsure with whom my next film will be. But in Hindi, I signed a two-film deal with Karan (Johar) and then ShershahThere is still one more work left to do. I can pick and choose what I really want to do and I’m happy to have the benefits of that.