“Irumugan will be a ‘full meals’ treat for Vikram fans and general audiences alike”
Irumugan is helmed by the young and promising Anand Shankar who gave us the racy Arima Nambi with Vikram Prabhu in 2014. Editor Bhuvan Srinivasan was a key technician in Arima Nambi and he is back with Anand in Irumugan as well. In this chat with Kaushik LM, the young editor opens up …
How was the pressure of handling such a big film for the first time?
“Expectations are natural for such big films but I didn’t feel any pressure as such. I had already worked on big films as an assistant to Sreekar Prasad sir, and now I had to do it singlehandedly. That was the only difference.”
How have you treated Irumugan?
“It is an action thriller and will be fast paced, stylish. There will be a little bit of back and forth moves in the narration but the audiences will get it. You can call it a ‘full meals’ treat for Vikram fans and general audiences alike.”
Anand Shankar has made a quick jump to the big league. How is your equation with him?
“He is very sorted-out as a director and is clear in what he wants. It was an easy, smooth process working with him. We share a good rapport and our wavelengths match. We place complete trust in each other and know what each other wants.”
How has Chiyaan Vikram delivered the two contrasting roles – Akilan and Love?
“There is no further need to comment on his acting caliber. We just have to showcase and present his performance in the best way possible. The shelf life of a film is very less nowadays. By the first weekend, we have to bring people into theaters somehow. The ‘late pickup’ concept is barely existent. That’s why we revealed so much in the trailer. To bring people in, we had to position Irumugan as something different and not the regular mass masala film. That’s what audiences expect from Vikram too.
If it had been another actor playing the ‘Love’ role, people wouldn’t have felt that the trailer revealed too much. Just because it’s Vikram playing both the roles, such a feedback is out there. We read all the comments in social media and almost 50% feel that the trailer has revealed a lot. People had to be prepared for that character, else they would’ve felt disappointed expecting just a mass entertainer out of Irumugan. But ‘Love’ is not the suspense and the plot points haven’t been exposed
. Audiences will still be glued seeing the film and it will be entertaining. The character ‘Love’ won’t be a fish out of water and will gel with the narrative.”
As an editor, what’s your understanding on the importance of a teaser / trailer nowadays?
“The most promising moments of a film have to be showcased in these clips. It is just like an ad which sells a product. Of course, we shouldn’t be revealing too much; it’s a dicey thing
to decide. The editor is the first audience for a film and it depends on his thought process too. For Hollywood films, about 3 to 5 trailers are cut, and almost the entire film will be covered in these trailers. In this day and age, people expect that.”
When asked about the recent case of Kabali when audiences felt that the pre-release teasers painted a completely heroic picture of the film, Bhuvan added that, had the team revealed some of the emotional content along with Superstar’s mass moments in the teasers, the film could have done even better.
Finally, your relationship with your mentor Sreekar Prasad?
“He is a man of few words. He sees most of my films before their release itself. He has always been helpful, supportive and is more like a father figure to me. Our association goes beyond the relationship between an editor and his assistant.”
Interviewed by Kaushik LM