'Santhanam and Yogi Babu's spontaneity was incredible in Dagaalty'

It isn’t every day that two films with the same hero get released on the same date. But the imminent clash at the box office with Server Sundaram doesn’t perturb Dagaalty’s director Vijay Anand in the least. “I am just focusing on doing my job right. This is something that the producer decides and it is his call,” says Vijay Anand, an erstwhile assistant of Shankar. “I learned everything from Shankar sir, not just filmmaking. Avar kiterundhu kathukitadhu paadhi panna kooda periya aala aidalam.”

The sets of Dagaalty reminded Vijay of Shankar’s sets. “I had a very good team with an experienced set of technicians. It didn’t feel like my first film. The entire process was very smooth.” And shooting with Santhanam and Yogi Babu together, he says, was a blast. “It is close to what you see on screen. Their spontaneity was incredible.”

He further discloses that there were several sequences where the crew itself was cheering. “Especially during the climax, with multiple cameras working, there were moments where the sets broke into applause.” But Vijay admits that he didn’t write the script with these actors in mind. “I felt Santhanam and Yogi Babu were good fits for the characters I had written. We felt it would be interesting to see them together. And I am glad it all worked out,” he smiles.

The teaser of Dagaalty promises a very interesting mix — the sophisticated visuals of an action film but with the one-liners of a comedy. “It is an action-comedy,” agrees Vijay. “While I had written the film to be light-hearted, it has more humour now, thanks to Santhanam.”

Surprisingly, Vijay tells us that Dagaalty revolves around the heroine whose ambition is to direct a big film with a mass star. “That’s her character,” smiles the debutant director. “While we had approached established stars, it didn’t work out due to date issues. But we found Ritika Sen apt for the role, and she came on board after an audition. This might be her first film in Tamil, but she has done several projects in Bengali.”

Dagaalty is expected to hit the screens this Friday.