There is no doubt that Venkat Prabhu is one of the most versatile, entertaining contemporary film-makers who is well aware of the pulse of youngsters. His broad range of filmography – a sports comedy, a road/travelogue thriller, an adult comedy, a heist thriller, a comedy thriller and now, a supernatural, family and kids friendly horror film – is a testament to his proven astuteness. After making low-budget flicks with a relatively young cast, Venkat Prabhu straight away moved on the bigger league with Ajith’s Mankatha and revived his sagging career then. Before Mankatha (2011), Ajith’s last hit was Billa in 2007. When Karthi had a string of duds in his fledgling career in 2013, Venkat Prabhu tried to resurrect his career with Biriyani, but the end result was not entirely satisfactory though it provided Karthi a new makeover.
Suriya’s Anjaan was subjected to unprecedented levels of disparagement last year. The negative criticism on the film hit the roof and director Lingusamy was literally hammered by meme-makers on social media platforms with endless trolling. I even had to pen a piece ‘Lingusamy Deserves Better’ to offer my piece of mind to the naysayers. Now, Venkat Prabhu has once again taken the baton with Masss, which is an important film in Suriya’s career to shut his detractors. It’s also significant for Venkat Prabhu to get back to his winning ways.
Though Studio Green has downplayed the film’s promotional aspects, the expectations are naturally good amidst moviegoers. That Suriya and Venkat Prabhu are joining hands, and the film is a supernatural thriller with a tinge of emotions is itself fair enough to mount the anticipations.
The team has been re-iterating in press meets and interviews that Masss is not a horror film. The universal viewing endorsed by the censor board affirms the same.
“Masss is a feel good entertainer. Venkat Prabhu has planted a new idea in the genre. And, that will be the important twist in the film. I wouldn’t call Masss as a horror film. You can call it a spooky film. We have done an entertaining summer film for family audiences and kids,” said Suriya.
Venkat Prabhu is surely a potential film-maker to demonstrate a genre differently. He’s got an able method actor, a fantastic technical finesse – his long-standing collaborators Yuvan Shankar Raja for music, the national award-wining expertise in Praveen KL for editing, ace cameraman RD Rajasekhar and art director Rajeevan – and an ensemble crew that boasts of finest actors like Parthiepan, Samuthirakani, Madhu Soodhanan and Riyaz Khan. Suriya has spoken highly of the angelic Nayanthara’s screen presence in the film. That will be another watch-out factor in addition to a roster of comedians – Premgi Amaren, Karunas, Sriman and Vidyu Raman. Interestingly, Venkat Prabhu will be sharing the dialogue credits with Madhan Karky, another favorite of well-read youngsters, for the first time.
Though Venkat Prabhu has always maintained that his films don’t have ‘stories’, they have had reasonably good screenplays with superb twists at crucial junctures. For the first time, VP has said, “Once we cast Suriya, we knew it was a huge project. I needed to do justice, and so, for the first time, I have actually worked on a story for the film.” 😀
VP has also assured that he has let go of the template he’s known for since people are accustomed to his technique. Horror-comedies generally thrive on slapstick humor with the help of comedians. “Masss isn’t actually a horror-comedy because typically in such films the laughs are generated out of slapstick humour involving the comedians. We haven’t followed such a pattern,” said Venkat Prabhu.
The small fantasy element, Suriya’s vampire look, Yuvan’s highly praised about background score have already created enough curiosity among fans though the team has not released an official trailer.
Will Venkat Prabhu prove his versatility in Masss? Will Suriya bring back his career to life after the Anjaan debacle? Stay tuned!
Masss releases worldwide on May 29th in over 1900 screens in Tamil and Telugu.
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Written by Surendhar MK