Mathi Maran: I approached Selfie like it was an indie film

Debutant filmmaker Mathi Maran is cautious and specific about how he describes his recently released film, Selfie. "It's an indie film. That's how I approached the script, and we used unknown faces and realistic locations for the same," he says. This quality of meticulousness and self-awareness also extended to the film's treatment. Much of the film moves restlessly, with closely-cut edits and rapid camera movements painting a realistic, gritty picture. Selfie follows a group of college students, headed by Kanal (GV Prakash Kumar), who are pushed into the world of an illegal college admission racket. "In the first half, I wanted to convey the nervousness of these college youths who venture into this illegal business. However, in the second half, the editing is meant to mirror the maturity that Gautham Menon's character Ravi Varman brings in. His life is a bit more stable when compared to Kanal's." Mathi ruminates that the influence of filmmaker Paul Greengrass (of the Bourne series) might be another reason as well. "Or, it might also be because I'm a nervous, impatient individual," he adds.

Though Selfie might look like a grounded, low-budget flick, the subject it handles isn't a low-key affair at all. Mathi's decision to choose the rampant college admission racket as the root of the story stemmed from a personal anecdote shared by a friend. "He once told me about how he bought a new car during his second year of college and how he was forced to sell it in his third. I was intrigued as to how a second-year college student can afford a new car and that's when I was introduced to this business of admission brokering." This anecdote was incorporated into the film, with Kanal and his friend Nazir buying an old Benz, which they are later forced to sell. "A drama was born when I realised why my friend had to sell his car. That's when I realised the struggles that people like him have to face. In fact, I have retained a line he told that describes the distressing truth behind this business model: 'Idhu nammala lock panniruchu paathiya', (Look how this business has prisoned us)," says Mathi.

While dealing with such a social subject, extensive research is crucial to ensure it doesn't become a one-sided discussion. "We need to understand why colleges can't fill their seats and why they resort to using these youngsters as marketing tools. Secondly, we need to see how engineering became a pipedream for many families in the early 2000s, and how the value of that discipline dropped. Thirdly, we need to look at how such a crisis exists in the education sector in a developed state such as Tamil Nadu. I have tried to flesh out all these in my film," explains the filmmaker.

Mathi says that quite a few shocking facts unravelled during his research into this world. "You wouldn't believe the heights that some of these people who sell college seats have reached in life. A lot of them are in cinema production as well. I even spoke with a few of them and it was they who told me how they conned these parents. Even a few background actors in the film were once victims of these rackets," says Mathi.

The solution Mathi propagates to this issue lies in the title of the film itself. "If a man gets stuck in a quagmire like this, the most powerful tool he has is to bring the truth out to the public. I wanted to promote that whistleblowing attitude to the people. It was the way the character chose to do it that made us choose Selfie as the title."

A story of a simple man breaking overpowering obstacles to ascend to the top is fodder for theatrical mass moments, and yet, Mathi has restrained from such commercial appeasements. "It's a content-driven film and I didn't want to lose its realism. Only if the situation demands a 'mass' moment, should we include it and if used unwantedly, might infuriate the audience," he says.

Another interesting facet of Selfie is Gautham's Ravi Varman, who plays the antagonist. The director was particular about casting the actor-filmmaker. "His appearance was the key. People who head these rackets look like him and I wanted someone who looks like a grounded, local, upper-middle-class man," says Mathi, adding, "He has a specific style to him, and to get him into the character, I prepared a booklet that described Ravi Varman." Though Gautham saw the significance of Ravi Varman in the script, it was the presence of Vidya Pradeep's character (Ravi Varman's wife) that pushed him to do the film. "She was his soulmate and he consults her for every decision. Many told me that it wasn't the best decision but I told them that a man who respects a woman and consults her is more valorous than one who doesn't. That idea worked well with Gautham sir."

This knack for building several character arcs in a story is something he seems to have learned from Vetri Maaran, with whom he worked as an associate on several projects. "I realised the importance of creating a story for supporting characters from him. Considering the times we live in, where web series have made their presence felt, going with a single-character narration doesn't work anymore," he says.

Adding these many layers and storytelling quirks is admirable, especially considering the tight schedule in which Mathi had to operate. "It was a challenging process for both the production team and the direction team. We had a tight schedule to follow and we had to shoot five scenes in a day sometimes," he says. If anything, this conversation surrounding Selfie is more like a selfie of a stringent filmmaker who means business, and for now, that picture looks promising.