EXCLUSIVE: Seththumaan Director Thamizh: The Real Magic Happens When The Audiences Watch The Film!

Seththumaan, the highly acclaimed Tamil film has finally premiered on Sony LIV. The movie, which is based on the short story written by Perumal Murugan of the same name, is helmed by newcomer Thamizh. Seththumaan premiered at the International Film Festival Of Kerala before its OTT release. The Thamizh directorial was later screened at a number of prestigious film festivals, where it was highly praised by the audiences. The movie is bankrolled by renowned filmmaker Pa Ranjith, under his home banner Neelam Productions.

In an EXCLUSIVE tete-e-tete with Filmibeat, director Thamizh opened up about his journey, making Seththumaan, the politics in his films, and much more. Read the excerpts from the interview here...

1. What prompted you to make your directorial debut with Seththumaan?

Initially, I had prepared a couple of other scripts for my directorial debut, but I couldn't pitch them successfully - that is the truth. Later, I kind of gave up and even reached a point where I just wanted to quit films because nothing was working out. I had this thought for over 5 months. But later, I felt that it is not right to quit after putting in so much effort.

Around that time, I watched the Malayalam film Ozhivudivasathe Kali, which was shot in just 14 days. After watching that film, I realised that even films which are made on such a small scale and time get audiences. This made me think "Why not try something like this - small yet impactful."

Then I revisited the short stories that made an impact on me and rediscovered Seththumaan. I read the story again and it still impacted me the same way it did when I read it for the first time. So, I felt that this is a subject that will leave a deep impact on audiences too if it is made into a film. That is how I decided that this is going to be my directorial debut.

2. How did your dream of becoming a filmmaker start? Can you please elaborate on your journey?

My brother is a big movie buff. He used to bunk classes to watch films in theatres and even used to take me with him. That is how I developed a liking for cinema. But at that time, there were only commercial films in Tamil. The parallel cinemas used to get National awards, but they never reached the audiences.

Later, I wished to come to Chennai and join the film industry - and even eloped from my house multiple times for the same. But later, I kind of gave up on my dreams. Around the same time, Rajiv Menon sir launched an institute. I wanted to study cinema, so applied to join the first-ever batch of the institute and finally came to Chennai. When I met Rajiv Menon sir for the interview, he asked me why I came to Chennai and I replied that I want to learn filmmaking.

Then he told me that the institute is providing a course on cinematography, not filmmaking. He advised working as an assistant director if I want to learn filmmaking. Initially, I worked on a couple of small films which were dropped. Later I worked in Pattalam (directed by Rohan Krishna) and Venkat Prabhu's Biriyani.

3. Tell us about your collaboration with filmmaker Pa Ranjith for Seththumaan?

Initially, I was planning to bankroll Seththumaan on my own. But I only had the budget for shooting and had no money to rent a camera. Pa Ranjith was also an assistant director of Ventak Prabhu, so I knew him personally. I went and met him at the sets of Kaala, and narrated the story. He asked me to work on the script and meet him after that. I finished the script and dialogues of the film and sent them to Pa Ranjith.

He finished reading, called me, and asked me what am I expecting from him. I asked him whether he can arrange a camera for the film, which costs around Rs 6 Lakh, and promised that I will return the money soon. But Ranjith asked not to take such a big risk and instead offered to produce the film under his home banner.

He asked me to make the film exactly the way I wanted, and never interfered in the making in any way. Pa Ranjith gave me complete freedom and stood by my side as the most supportive producer.

4. Seththumaan received rave reviews after its premiere in IFFK and from all the film festivals it was screened. Is there any response or compliment you received that is extremely close to your heart?

Seththumaan was first selected for the IFFK, and that's where I watched the entire film for the first time. I watched it with the Kerala audience and their response was extremely positive. The immense respect that I received at IFFK post the screening of the film is something that I will never forget. It is extremely special because it was the premiere of my debut directorial project, and the audience's response was beyond my expectations. After that, Seththumaan was screened at Pune Film Festival, and the Los Angeles film festival, where it received the award for Best Film.

5. The film features a bunch of talents who are new to Tamil cinema. How does it feel to work with them?

Every artist in this film was a newcomer, including Prasanna Balachander who later went on to do more films. The casting itself was a great journey and I hand-picked the actors from the auditions. I had tried to groom them a bit and made them do multiple rehearsals, before the shoot. We had two rehearsals and the second one was held at the shooting spot itself. It was shot using the handicams. Each and every actor in Seththumaan is extremely talented, and they would've entered the film even if I didn't make this film.

6. Your debut film is getting an OTT release on a celebrated platform like Sony LIV, which is known for the quality of its content. What is your take on that?

That is something which I'm extremely happy and grateful for. As you said, Sony LIV is known for the quality of the content it produces. When it was decided that Seththumaan was releasing on Sony LIV, there was an immensely positive response from everyone I know. All films released on this platform so far, including the recently released Mammootty-starrer Puzhu (Malayalam), received so much love from the viewers. I hope that Seththumaan will also get the same kind of response.

7. What is your biggest takeaway from Seththumaan?

We can't predict the end result of a film before it reaches its audience - that is the biggest lesson that I learned while making Seththumaan. The real magic happens when the audience watches it. We can think that we have made a great screenplay or these particular scenes will leave a great impact on the audience - but you will know if it worked or not, only when you watch the film with the audience. And this is the biggest challenge for a filmmaker. All you can do is give your 100 percent to the film and do your work sincerely.

8. Can you please tell us about your future projects? What kind of films are you looking forward to making?

I've already started working on my second film, and the pre-production works are going on for the last six months. I look forward to making films with great content that will leave an impact on audiences. You will get to know the details soon.

Seththumaan became my directorial debut quite unexpectedly. So, I don't think I can predict what kind of films I am going to do in the future. All I can say is that all my films will be political, no matter what the genre is (laughs).