I’m bringing that to my writing.
Yes. It’s been that long since Kandukondein Kandukondein. As I made ad films and documentaries I was polishing this one. Its taken a lot of effort.
There’s no way a mridangam can be made without cow skin. And this is played even in temples. Also, it has to be a cow which has just given birth because the skin’s stretched. I wasn’t going to shy from making this point.
I wanted him as he plays the mridangam. He agreed when he heard the story and wanted to do a scene right there. He wanted to believe in himself after being laid with illness and latched on to my writing. Others too had a point to prove. GV (Prakash Kumar) had had a string of flops, Vineeth was forgotten and Aparna was working with an ensemble cast and had to stand out.
When discussing the script with GV, he told me it needs a heavyweight. “Either talk to maama (Prakash is A R Rahman’s nephew) or go to Ilaiyaraja,” he told me. I had no money to pay a maestro of Rahman’s callibre. But he’s a friend. So I called him about my “really small film.” When we met I played my 1/2 hour documentary and then told him the story. He said, “This is an important film and needs to be made. Don’t think about my fees. Just do it!” I’ve not given him a single paisa. He’s getting paid from the collections.
I had an old composition from the 18th century as an inspiration, but I wanted something more specific and arrived at the first line Varalama Un Arugil / Peralama Un Arulai (Can I come to your doorstep?/ I beseech your blessings). Lyricist Madhan Karky built on it.
I put my 30-year-friendship with Rahman on line with: “I have a tune for this.” He went: “What?” He’d already thought of something but asked me to sing and asked his assistant Srini to come record it. He then made me sing again, recording on his phone, leaning forward and adding scat beats. When STM was edited and ready and the tracklist was to go, he insisted composition credits for me. Later, he insisted on royalties for this song for me. In an industry replete with examples of people stealing others’ work, he’s the opposite.
Will it work? I’m happy that audiences here like it. I’m not interested in serving pasta to the drought-hit in Latur. I want to give audiences in India what works for them and in the process learn and grow. Not to say I don’t like anything in Bollywood. Recently, I liked Raazi a lot. I also like some of Anurag Kashyap’s work. One senses a churn.
I’m writing a social thriller. I can’t write about NRI romances. Remember I’m the guy who writes about a hairstylist who falls in love with a nun, failed assistant directors struggling to get married, a decapitated army major falling in love with a woman half his age. I like fractured characters with human follies.