Interview with Badri, the director of Aadama Jaichomada

Only Kollywood interacted with Badri, the director of Aadama Jaichomada ahead of its release tomorrow. He talks about his inspiration for the film, arduous research on spot-fixing and why comedy is serious business.

Few days after the release of Shiva’s “Thillu Mullu”, its director Badri published a paper advertisement with a photograph of crying Indian cricketer S. Sreesanth, busted in spot-fixing. The ad, which read “Intha Thillu Mullu Azhagavekkum, Enga Thillu Mullu Sirikavekkum”, received overwhelming response. Badri got appreciation calls from all quarters for the poster. That’s when he decided why not make a film on spot-fixing in cricket.

Badri’s Inspiration

“I wondered if an ad could receive such a rousing response, how well a film will be received. So my inspiration behind ‘Aadama Jaichomada’ came from that advertisement. The film is based on “cricket betting” and “spot-fixing”. Badri wanted to tell his story from the perspective of a common man.

“Most people don’t have the awareness about “cricket betting” and “spot-fixing”. Most of their understanding of these things is based on assumption. That’s when I felt I could probably find a story in this and make it into a film,” Badri said.

“We all know how much cricket is loved in our country. We also know what happens in a cricket match. But what we don’t know is that what happens on the outside while a match is played. I’ve tried to show it in a satirical way so that the audiences enjoy watching it. I’ve tried to portray the story from the perspective of a taxi driver,” he said.

Research on spot-fixing

Since the film’s subject is controversial, Badri had to research sincerely to find genuine information on spot-fixing. “I’m a law graduate. I have a few lawyer friends. I met a few of their clients who got involved in spot-fixing to understand how it’s actually done. Since I was dealing with a controversial subject, I had to make sure everything I show, is authentic,” he said.

He even met a few bookies as part of his research process. All this helped him to pen his screenplay. Do you think it’s a challenge to address a controversial topic with satire/comedy? “The challenge here was to highlight that not everybody in cricket is corrupted. It’s a few who have been involved in spot-fixing. But still the sport has the charisma in our country. So neither could I blame cricket but still show audiences, satirically, how matches and players are rigged,” he said.

“I somehow managed to overcome this challenge and produce a satisfying film that will definitely appeal to audiences,” he added.

Affinity for ‘comedy’

Badri also feels comedy is one of the safest genres to work in. “When you narrate a serious incident with humour, it’s usually received very well. Comedy genre, irrespective of the time of the year, ensures minimum guarantee at the box-office”. “Audiences are naturally attracted to comedy films more than any film in any other genre,” said Badri, and added: “These reasons convinced me to tell my story with humour”.

Comedy runs in Badri’s genes and he admits it with a laugh. “Since we all come from Sundar C’s school of direction, our films are usually high on comedy, which we use it in such a way that it runs parallely with the story but never disturbs it”.

Bobby Simha and Karunakaran

Starring Bobby Simha and Karunakaran in the lead roles, “Aadama Jaichomada” releases in cinemas in Friday. 

Badri had known Karunakaran from the days of “Kalakalappu”, while Simhaa from his struggling days as an actor in short films. He felt they would be perfect for the film as he wanted actors with “no image”. “I had the confidence that Simha and Karuna would fit into the character. They are highly talented actors and don’t come with an image.

Weren’t you apprehensive that comedy might hamper the seriousness of the subject at hand and make everything appear slapstick?

“No matter how serious a subject might be, if you present it as a sugarcoated pill, audiences will lap it up. Sometimes even medicine is given to patients as a sugarcoated pill and it finally works inside when consumed. I think this story is just like that,” he said.

“Films like these will forewarn the next generation. It will tell them that it’s a mistake to these things. It will give them an opportunity to realize the gravity of this subject,” he added.

Comedy is Badri’s strength but he says it isn’t easy to make a film in this genre. Contrary to what people usually say, he says comedy too needs creativity. “It irritates me when people say comedy films need no creativity. That’s not true, because of all the genres, I find comedy most challenging. That’s why the ability to make audiences laugh doesn’t come naturally to all filmmakers,” Badri said.

“If I add a few cuss words in my film, it might offend the viewers and they might get angry. If I show an old man dying, it might make people emotional. But you can’t say for sure what will make audiences laugh,” concludes Badri on a serious note!