Films that Made Me- Milind Rau: Horror is looked down as a genre

‘Michael Madana Kama Rajan is one of the earliest films that my parents took me to watch in a theatre. It was an unbelievable experience and left a strong impression on its writing and character development. The jokes are quite intelligent and are translated onto the screen effortlessly. It is only after looking back at the experience and questioning why you enjoyed it the way you did, that you begin to unravel the brilliance of its making and writing.
 
Similarly, Baasha is a film I bunked school to catch in a theatre with my friends and had a blast. The beauty of the film lies in how the writing holds back before dropping the mass moments. The iconic pole scene leaves the audience restless as Rajini doesn’t fight back. But when he pounces, the whole theatre erupts. It is the amazing writing that makes it a fantastic community viewing experience. It is one of those films that remind you of the power of cinema, the power of creating moments that make the viewers jump, hoot and whistle in excitement. On the other hand, when it comes to Nayagan, I hadn’t seen anything like it before. There was an aesthetic to the film that was absent rest of the films from that time. This is when I had the question, ‘who’s doing it?’ This question, of course, led me to discover Mani sir’s body of work, and working with him was a dream come true.

Nayagan had an international sensibility to it, and my exposure to international cinema came through video libraries. The Exorcist was one film that got imprinted in my memory through VCRs. It is still scary, and 49 years, later, the film still stands the test of time. They achieved certain scenes, like the projectile vomit and the trembling of bed, back in 1973 while it remains arduous to shoot something like that now, even with the backing of VFX. The influence of The Exorcist is palpable in Aval. The authentic portrayal of medical procedures, to name one, was inspired by the 1973 film. I believe The Exorcist is a film that lent value to horror as a genre, which is often looked down upon. It reaffirmed that horror can give birth to modern auteurs. The Shining, like The Exorcist, is a landmark horror film. Jack Nicholson was freighting in the film, which is filled with unbelievable imagery and shocking scenes. Stanley Kubrick is a visionary. Before Aval, I wondered why it’s always the woman who gets possessed by the ghost, why can’t it happen to a man? Perhaps the root of Aval came from The Shining.

Both Fight Club and The Matrix are special because they spoke to us back in the day about existentialism and consumerism. In a way, they questioned reality and spoke about rebellion, fighting against the system, the fakeness of our lives, and the importance of finding our calling. Remove these layers of social commentary, you still have an insanely entertaining film in Fight Club; remove its philosophy, and you can still enjoy the action spectacle that The Matrix is. The Matrix was a revelation when I had first seen it. I believe it is my tipping point. In 1999, I was doing my undergrad and didn’t know a single person from the film industry and a friend was talking about a film course in Australia. This is when The Matrix came out and left me in awe about the possibilities of cinema. This film ultimately pushed me to take a plunge into filmmaking.'

(As told to Ram Venkat Srikar)