Interview with J Vadivel, director of Kallappadam
Debutant filmmaker J Vadivel gets talking with Only Kollywood on his association with Mysskin, his admiration for Bala and his debut film Kallappadam which is set for release on March 20th.
How did your journey in Tamil Cinema begin?
Right from 2003, I was a reporter with AnandaVikatan. I thought that working with Vikatan would give me a good recognition and an opening in the industry. Five years later, I called up Mysskin sir on the release day of Anjaathey and lauded him for his work. After a three hour interview with Mysskin, I joined him as an assistant director. Mysskin never asked me about his film, instead we spoke a lot about books, world cinema, politics and other things. I worked with him for the next six years, until the script of OnaayumAatukuttiyum. In the process of writing a script, I met Anand. Luckily, he was impressed with the story but couldn’t afford such a big budget. He asked me to pen another script within a smaller budget and narrated a knot to him. Things escalated quickly and that script, is Kallappadam.
Anand didn’t come here to produce streamlined cinema. He wanted to churn out something new, and he found that in me. Discussions happened midway through 2013, and we went for shoot in November.
On Bala’s reactions to the film
Bala sir’s appreciation to Kallappadam is a big boost for me personally. It is not necessary for him to discuss the film for 30 minutes after watching it. He said that there wasn’t a single scene that he didn’t like in the film, and it will surely win. In the first two minutes that he spoke, I fell thrice at his feet. He was a like a mentor to me.
On Kallappadam and what is so special about it
There is a surprise element in the film citing to which we have zeroed in on this title. The film is about four friends who are skilled in different parts of filmmaking, staying in the same room. Their dream is to direct Rajinikanth or Kamal in the future. Lakshmi Priya plays the antagonist, an actress who has been ripped off her stardom. Kallappadam narrates the incidents where these two paths clash. I have acted as the director, K as the music director, apart from Santhosh and Gaugin.
Bringing the Koothu dance form to films
After cinema has rised, Koothu has vanished from the scene. It is on the verge of extinction, so I wanted to bring about a tribute to the dance form. It is a small meta inside the film. In those days, Koothu dominated the country side festivals and now it’s been replaced by dance kutcheris where sleazy dancers groove before an audience. I didn’t want to be preachy since my message wouldn’t be conveyed. So, we have handled this in a light-hearted to make this appealing to the audience.
On K’s music and background score
K will go big with this film. The songs have reached out very well, and the BGM too is nicely done. This is the first time in a feature film where four main technical cast people are acting as leads themselves and we are pretty excited about the prospects. I’m quite certain of the film’s critical success. It will surely appease the critic circle and I’m nervous about how the audiences will react to my film since the commercial success of our product depends on their verdict.
Produced by Anand Ponniraivan, Kallappadam features K, Gaugin, Santhosh and Vadivel as the leads and Lakshmi Priyaa of ‘Sutta Kadhai’ fame in a pivotal role. It hits screens Friday.
