Imagine being the first recipient of a newly constituted National Award category in your very first feature film. That was the honour bestowed on director Pandiraaj, who won the National Award for Best Dialogues for his film, Pasanga. One of the most celebrated debuts in Tamil cinema, Pasanga gave Pandiraaj a rather enviable place in the industry. Here was someone who knew how to make commercially successful films with rank newcomers. And over the years, Pandiraaj proved that he could register successes with star-driven films too. Of course, there has been a rare slip here and there, but this has been a successful balancing task that very few filmmakers have managed in Tamil cinema so far.
Pandiraaj is a brand unto himself, and with less than a week left for the release of his 11th directorial venture, Thalaivan Thalaivii, the filmmaker agrees that Tamil cinema is conducive for more such directors to thrive. “Honestly, you can’t imagine Tamil cinema without its star vehicles. Be it Jailer, Vikram, or Amaran, these stories were told because of the star in the centre. But what is equally assuring is that those are not the only type of films that are bringing the audience to the theatres,” says Pandiraaj, who expresses his admiration for films like Tourist Family, Lubber Pandhu, Kudumbasthan, Maaman, and 3 BHK for making films that respect the family audience.
“When I observed Malayalam cinema, I was disappointed with the lack of patronage among Tamil audiences for similar Tamil films. But our audience is receptive to content-driven films too. All they want is to be engaged and entertained, irrespective of the star cast and the premise,” points out Pandiraaj, adding that the audience reception is paramount for the kind of films that become the norm in an industry. Taking a leaf out of his filmography, Pandiraaj shares how a much more resounding success for his Vishal-starrer Kathakali would have allowed him to change his track. “I wanted to break the pattern, and I know that a bigger success would have given me something more. Even now, many express their liking for the film, but it is all about numbers in the industry. The collections decide everything. I have 10 stories like Pasanga, but it won’t have the reach that the market expects from me. But there will come a time when I will do it. Films for the people, and not the stars. Pure cinema. But now, after the success of Kadaikutty Singam and Namma Veetu Pillai, I have been branded as a family padam director,” says Pandiraaj. Will things change after Thalaivan Thalaivii, headlined by Nithya Menen and Vijay Sethupathi? “Not really. They will be more vehement about their labelling.”
For a filmmaker who broke into collective consciousness with a ‘children’s film’ featuring newcomers and bringing home National awards, wouldn’t these labels and conversations surrounding box-office numbers be limiting to a fault? “Absolutely. It is disappointing that many cinema-related conversations boil down to numbers. See, some producers are not willing to share the numbers, and then, we have producers who are willing to inflate the numbers, and filmmakers like me are caught in the crosshairs,” says an exasperated Pandiraaj, who reiterates that the audience cannot be blamed for cinematic trends and such labelling. “It is not like the audience members are asking us to make a film in a particular genre. They trust us and come to the theatre, spend big money on tickets, food, conveyance, etc. They want to be happy, and our basic job is to fulfil that seemingly simple wish.”
Over the past 16 years, Pandiraaj has managed to develop a core audience for his films, and they trust in him to deliver simple stories about people they know and situations they are familiar with. The filmmaker, too, is sure that it is such stories that resonate the loudest. “In Thalaivan Thalaivii, the protagonist is a Parotta master. When was the last time you saw a hero play such a role? Automatically, they start seeing the protagonist as one among them, and not a hero. This allows them to feel connected with consummate ease,” says a beaming Pandiraaj, who reveals that every film of his is more than just your regular commercial entertainer. “There are concerted efforts to set the premise for my films. There is a clear landscape, well-researched names, and a representation of the lives of the ‘regular’ people. My films are documentations of Tamil culture and history,” says a proud Pandiraaj.
However, the commercial filmmaker is also clear about how his films cannot be too close to reality either. “It is risky,” says Pandiraaj, adding, “Edhaarthavaadhigalai vegujanavaadhigalikku pidippadhillai (The people in the mainstream don’t like the pragamatists).” Throughout this conversation, Pandiraaj throws such one-liners that are incisive, funny, and deeply insightful. “Writing is more important than directing. Shooting is very easy, but writing is very tough,” says the filmmaker, who reveals that he wrote 18 drafts for Thalaivan Thalaivii, and even Suriya’s Etharkkum Thunindhavum had 15 drafts. “I take time to write my films, and it is uncomfortable to have people insinuate that I gave more effort to one film and not to another. Efforts are the same… the connection might have been lost in translation.”
Talking about being lost in translation, Pandiraaj is clear that his films have their own target audience, and he urges people to know what exactly they are getting into before walking into watch any of his films, including the upcoming Thalaivan Thalaivii. “Why walk into a family drama and criticise it for being sentimental or melodramatic? And when you write my films off as ‘village’ films or ‘B and C centre’ films, aren’t you alienating the majority of Tamil cinema audience?” asks a stern Pandiraaj, who expresses his reservations about the way urban directors are intellectualised, and the rural directors are brushed off. “A Tamil film can be deemed a major success only if it works outside Chennai. And if there aren’t films made for them, what will they watch? Why do you want to push a pizza down the throat of a family that wants to have a bowl of comforting rice?” asks Pandiraaj, who signs off by saying that there is an audience for pizza too, and they must co-exist. “If you don’t like pizza, why go out of your way to criticise it? Each of us has their own tastes, and we seek the films we want to watch, right? No one’s voice must be silenced.”
