A few years back, people would have probably laughed at the idea of a Malayalam film with an entirely new cast going on to become one of the industry’s biggest grossers. We’re talking over ₹200 crore here. But within a month of its release, Vaazha 2: Biopic of a Billion Bros has done exactly that, comfortably finding a place among the elite crore clubs and shattering a few long-held notions along the way.
Interestingly, debutant director Savin SA, one of the key architects behind this resounding success, refuses to be swayed by the numbers. “It’s a result of teamwork,” he says casually. There is a genuine sense of modesty in the way Savin speaks, careful not to take sole credit for any creative choice in the film. Having spent over a decade in cinema, he also understands the struggles of assistants, who rarely get their due. Perhaps that is why he chose to dedicate the film to assistant directors in the opening credits. “I didn’t expect the film to scale such heights, but after seeing the kind of effort everyone put in, especially my direction team, I was confident it would turn out well. I like to think of those hundreds of crores as a reflection of how far the film has reached, and as a filmmaker, that gives me the biggest joy,” he adds, before we dig deeper into Vaazha 2 and its journey from germination to fruition.
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The film has exploded without traditional star power. What do you think made the audience respond to it so strongly?
I think it's the emotional connection that they feel with the characters. The lives and relationships we explore in the story are relatable to many, and we could see that in how they owned the film. We identified that from one of our first theatre visits itself.
Many aspiring actors and technicians from Malayalam are now eager to be part of Vipin Das' team for the opportunities he offers. From your experience, how does this experiment with new talents work for him?
I joined Vipin chettan as an associate in Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey and continued to work with him in Vaazha and Guruvayoorambala Nadayil. He is very approachable and always open to discussions. When I was offered to direct Vaazha 2 during the post-production of Vaazha, I was already feeling the pressure of taking forward a successful franchise. Having seen him deliver major hits, the responsibility of working on his script naturally feels much bigger. At the same time, I didn’t want to disappoint someone who has guided and shaped my career.
Your lead actors, Hashir, Alan, Ajin and Vinayak are all hugely popular on social media. When casting them, how did you decide whether to retain their familiar 'reel personas' or present them in a completely different light?
I wanted to stay away from their ‘reel image’ as much as possible, but that said, we have also compromised a bit, especially in their strong zones where it's better to unleash and let them do their thing. They have done over 1000 videos, so it's hard to extract something entirely unseen from them, but we have still tried to stay true to the characters. Prior to shooting, we also organised a week-long workshop for them and some other newcomers, which helped them adapt beautifully to our requirements.
Since the four of them also script and direct their own videos, how handy were their inputs, especially since the film relies a lot on spontaneous humour?
We stuck to the script for around 80 per cent of the portions. But we also had improvisations, like the climax scene featuring Devaraj and Ajin. When Devaraj talks about his father in the end, there's a smirk on his face, which I was not initially convinced of. But when I saw it in the final cut, it added more depth to his emotions. Similarly, their walk towards the sunset was also their contribution. Ours was not a traditional film set, with artist-technician barriers. During our discussions, I've also felt that Hashir and Vinayak have filmmaking ambitions.
Beyond the lead actors, Vaazha 2 also benefits a lot from its supporting cast, featuring a healthy mix of fresh faces and seasoned artists...
Vipin chettan was closely involved in the casting as well, bringing in talents like Devaraj, Ameen and team, and even Alphonse Puthren. Hashir's brother's role was originally supposed to be played by Sabir, also a content creator, who eventually did another minor role. He was part of the team from the beginning, even reducing weight for the role, but as the writing progressed, it didn't work out as the age gap between the two brothers had to be significant. Similarly, Devaraj was also a last-minute addition, replacing another actor just a week before shooting.
I enjoyed working with seniors like Raveendran chettan who is as energetic as he is in the film. His character also had a beautiful arc, but it could not be accommodated due to the runtime. Alphonse Puthren's is another favourite casting. He was one of my major inspirations as a filmmaker, and getting to direct him was special.
Vipin recently said that the 'Vanilla Chediye' song and the visuals were entirely your conception. Does it include the recreation of the famous cracker-bursting scene?
No, he meant the kids' portions. Abhimanyu, who played Hashir's childhood portions, stunned us with some wonderful expressions, which encouraged us to extend those portions for a song cut. Regarding the cracker bursting scene, I didn't fully understand it when Vipn chettan told me about it. We shot it like a reel, thinking of including it somewhere in the second half. But since I wasn't sure of the exact emotions it had to convey, I didn't take any close-up shots. We then had to reshoot it on the very last day of the shoot. It’s a pleasant surprise when people heap praise on that scene.
So you didn't have a bound script and discovered the film on the go?
We had a scene structure and a basic idea until the interval, with scripting progressing as we were shooting. There was a lot of reworking as well. The first idea for the sequel originated from the police station scene in the first part, when Hashir says he lost his father at a young age, and Alan says they are cousins. Though it started from there, we realised soon that it'd be tough to build a connected universe with logic intact.
The interval portion is one of the film's major high points, yet you were careful not to lend a heroic treatment to the action block...
It was a tricky scene. Since the boys are high on drugs, the audience might not root for them, so no point in glorifying their actions there. Initially, Kalai (Kingson) master gave us a more stylised choreography that didn't suit the mood. After two days, he quickly understood what we wanted and came up with something raw and violent.
While the theatre scene has worked among the youth, some also feel the abusive language was stretched a bit too much...
It was another challenging scene because that's when all four of them come together, and the story's natural progression depends on it. We conceived it as what would happen when someone walks into an unruly crowd in the dark. The lines were all improvised by the boys, but I understand the criticism.
Music is another key backbone of the franchise, with multiple composers collaborating. What were your inputs like?
While some song situations were already marked in the script, some we planned during the edit. 'Ada Bommale' and 'Kochu Keralam' songs were made for the visuals, which is why they blended so well. In fact, 'Ada Bommale' was not originally in the plans, but editor Kannan Mohan suggested we have a song there. He created a storyline out of all the random, cute shots of the couple. The remix of 'Kochu Kunjintachanoru' was Vipin chettan's idea, as he was keen on having a Mani chettan song.
Since the film has an extremely emotional ending, did you feel the tail end was crucial to leave the audience on a high note?
The plan to bring together the 'original Vaazhas' was there from the beginning, including the ‘Hey Banane’ track. Each of them also had a proper intro like what Joemon (Jyothir) gets, but we had to shorten it due to time constraints.
What are your expectations for Vaazha 3, especially as the franchise takes a gender shift?
It sounds more promising because we haven’t had many films that explore girls’ lives in this space. I believe it has the potential to be better than the first two films, as it can open up newer perspectives and touch upon more progressive themes. That’s the beauty of this franchise. We can move forward with stories of sisters, mothers, even extended family dynamics like aliyans, and still find endless possibilities to explore.