'Humans are scarier than ghosts'

In 2012, Karthik Subbaraj's directorial debut, Pizza created quite a sensation and helped revive the horror genre in Tamil cinema. Cut to 10 years later, the third film in the franchise has hit theatres this week: Pizza 3: The Mummy. Opening up about shouldering the reputation that comes along with being a Pizza film protagonist, Ashwin Kakumanu says, "I was hesitant about doing Pizza 3 initially because of the impact the original Pizza had on Tamil cinema. The fact that this film is even more thematically closer to the original than Pizza 2, was why I ended up doing it." 

In this conversation, Ashwin Kakumanu and Pavithrah Marimuthu speak about their latest release Pizza 3, the memories of shooting at night, and how social horror is more frightening than supernatural horror. 

Excerpts:

Your character in the film seems similar to Vijay Sethupathi's character from Pizza. Did you take conscious efforts to differentiate your performance?

AK: In Pizza, Vijay Sethupathi plays a Pizza delivery boy while I play a chef in this film. In fact, my character even goes out to deliver food sometimes when the rest of the staff have left. So yes, the roles have quite a few similarities. 

However, the ambitions of my character in this film are quite different from that of Sethupathi. His ambitions were spelled out by Karthik Subbaraj only towards the very end of the film. However, my character (Nalan) is driven by his career goals and has a very specific personality.  

Considering that this film franchise already has a reputation, what aspect of your character drew you towards it?

AK: I personally liked portraying this role because I could show the obsessive side of a chef or someone who works in the kitchen. Hygiene is important for a restaurant because a single negative feedback can cause the restaurant to lose its customers. Nalan, my character, is careful that he picks up one glass after another to check if there are obvious fingerprints on them. 

The red-coloured sweet that keeps coming up throughout the film was also an interesting way to bring in the paranormal element. The other chefs in the kitchen believe that I am making the sweet, but even I do not know how the sweet turns up in the kitchen and becomes popular. So, these were aspects I liked exploring in the film. 

Pavithra, you have played a teacher, a cop, and now, a paranormal investigator. Do you go in search of such unconventional roles?

PM: To be frank, I haven't really been allowed the liberty to exercise my choices yet, as I am still new to the industry. It is not like there are so many scripts coming my way and I choose only unconventional roles. I think I am just blessed to get the right kind of roles.

Do you agree with the criticism that your character is limited to being Nalan's partner?

PM: Of course, there’s also a romantic angle between the two primary characters, but it is the nature of the story. I portray an independent and bold woman, and I think my character is more than a romantic partner because I come into the picture to investigate paranormal activities. 

Do you think this film expands your range as a performer?

PM: The viewers perceive every single character of mine differently. To me, all my characters improve my range of performance in some way or the other. This character in particular is the one I can most relate to. 

What are some non-cliched horror aspects that this film presents?

AK: Generally, horror films stick to the cliche of being set in a haunted mansion. As opposed to such stereotypes, Pizza 3 is set in a posh restaurant with Western-style interiors in the kitchen. So, the visual treatment of the film itself is different. Of course, the fact that the spirits are not vengeful and the novelty in their backstory also makes this film unique. 

The film was filmed predominantly during the night. What was the night shoot experience like?

PM: Night shoots are more difficult because most of us are low on energy levels, but all the work had to be completed before sunrise. The restaurant we shot at was a live location. So, early in the morning, the workers would come to clean up after us because we mainly used their kitchen, which had to be fully sanitised each time. It was challenging to pack everything up before the sun came up. 

AK: People mainly ask us if we were frightened by the ‘ghost element’ because of the night shoot. Literally, the actors who played the spirits would sit opposite us and apply their makeup. We would even point out patches that needed more makeup, for them to rectify (laughs). So, no, we did not have any horrific experiences that way. 

Both of you have been a part of social horror content like Fingertip and Addham, respectively. Which scares you more, social horror or supernatural horror?

AK: Social horror is a genre that scares me more than supernatural horror. I don’t really believe in spirits, but humans are scary. Social media has become such a strong part of our daily lives, so much so, that we are so afraid of even one small thing going wrong. Be it trolling, negative comments, or even the cancel culture, social horror is the real deal. 

PM: I agree with Ashwin. Fear of spirits is something conspired by the mind. But fear of society is real. There is no escape from the taunts of society, be it on social media or in real life.