Vishnu Vishal, who is currently promoting his upcoming film Aaryan in back-to-back interviews, has opened up on his idea of what constitutes a "pan-Indian film." In conversation with The Hindu, Vishnu Vishal recalled the impact that director Shankar's Endhiran (2010) made as a pan-Indian film. "I think that Endhiran was the first pan-India blockbuster. We started it. Everyone across India celebrated the scale and magnificence of the film. That magic was not recreated again," he said.
The actor-producer went on to say that all of India's pan-India blockbusters have had a "rooted story" behind them. "It is these rooted films that traveled across the country. I feel that we are missing our roots somewhere. We have to get back to creating rooted content, which will face pan-India successes. Pushpa's story isn't global, it is very rooted. It is the same case with Kantara. If you take Manjummel Boys, it is about a bunch of Malayalis who rescue their friend from Guna caves. It is rooted in their own emotions and dialect. Same with KGF which is about Kolar Gold Fields. They are not taking films solely to become pan-India blockbusters. They are only focused on creating rooted stories," he elaborated, underlining that pan-India stories aren't about "combination".
"If you look at all these films, there are no big names associated with them. It is only actors doing their jobs in a rooted story, but we think a pan-India film should have one Telugu actor, one from Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and so on. That's a misconception we should break," he said.
The actor's upcoming film Aaryan is directed by Praveen K, and promises to be a gripping thriller where Vishnu Vishal dons the cop role again to nab a serial killer. But this time, there's a twist: The killer likes to challenge the cops. He discloses the name of the victim he is set to kill, exactly one hour before the crime is to take place. In recent interviews, the actor has shut down speculations and reiterated that the film is no way connected to his 2018 hit Ratsasan.
Vishnu Vishal is joined by actors Shraddha Srinath, Maanasa Choudhary, and Selvaraghavan in prominent roles in Aaryan. The film's technical crew comprises Harish Kannan as cinematographer, Ghibran as composer and editor San Lokesh. Apart from Tamil, the film is set to release in Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi. Produced by Vishnu Vishal's Vishnu Vishal Studioz, Aaryan is penned by the actor's FIR collaborator Manu Anand.
Aaryan is slated to hit theatres on October 31.
