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An exploration into good and bad

Pushkar and Gayatri, who know each other from their Visual Communication days at Loyola College, don’t direct films “just for the heck of it.” It has been seven years since the release of their last film, Va. And now, as they await the release of their third film,Vikram Vedha, they’re all smiles. “We wanted the right people to play the characters. We consider ourselves fortunate to have got Madhavan and Vijay Sethupathi on board.”

Excerpts follow:

So, your third film in 10 years.
Pushkar: Don’t say that again. It disturbs us. We spend a lot of time writing. After Va, it took us a couple of years to figure out our next script. Unless we are completely convinced by the script, we don’t like to pitch it even as a one-liner. We have a fully bound script before approaching production houses. And then, of course, we are free to improvise. I have to tell you — we’re not disciplined writers. We keep looking for inspiration.

How did Vikram Vedha happen?
Gayatri: After Va, we did nothing for two years. By 2014, we managed to get this script ready. We pitched it to Shashikanth of Y NOT Studios first. He was working on Madhavan’s Irudhi Suttru at the time, and so, it wasn’t difficult to get him on board. Also, we instinctively felt that Vijay would agree to be part of the film. As both characters demanded specific looks, we had to wait for sometime. They are powerhouse performers who embrace their characters. The film is about the differences between right and wrong, good and bad.

Is it true that the film is a modern adaptation of the Vikramathithan Vedhalam stories?
Pushkar: Yes. Those stories are about moral ambiguity. At the end of every story, questions will are asked about the right moral choices. When a given situation is paradoxical, what do you choose? Indian mythology doesn’t clearly distinguish between good and evil. There’s always an element of doubt. Our film is on those lines. The plot revolves around an inspector (played by Madhavan) and a gangster (played by Vijay Sethupathi), and our treatment will be unique and interesting. Almost 95 per cent of the film is complete, with just a song left to be shot by the end of this month.

It has also been reported that your film is inspired by Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can.
Pushkar: Not really. As for the chasing, yeah, I suppose. There, Tom Hanks chases DiCaprio. Here, Madhavan chases Vijay Sethupathi. But that’s about it.

Have you ever considered working individually?
Gayatri: That would probably be the worst decision we could take. We write together and bounce off ideas. We are used to it and find it comfortable. Also, two people sharing the work of a director makes the job easier, right?

But how do you resolve conflicting ideas?
Pushkar: As we grew up together, our aethstetics and sensibilities are the same. It’s not about right and wrong, but about which decision is better for the overall vision.

What research did you have to do to get the film’s universe right?
Pushkar: We met cops and gangsters to understand their behaviour and traits. There’s one trait they have in particular that we have used in the film. Generally speaking, we know how a cop leads his life, but about gangsters, we know little. We got police officers to put us on to ex-convicts, who have since cleaned up their act and moved on. We also spent time understanding how gangsters react to various situations. How does a gangster hold a hammer? How does he swing a sickle? We almost did a character-study.

Your earlier films, Oram Po and Va, were rooted in Chennai. Vikram Vedha too looks like it is set in the city.
Pushkar: The script called for it. We wrote it as a thriller with drama, suspense and action all integral to the story.

How was it working with Maddy and Vijay Sethupathi?
Gayatri: Initially, we were apprehensive about bringing them together as both of them are stars in their own right. But they were supportive of each other from day one. Their chemistry sparkles in the film. They stay on the sets till a scene is over. They don’t just care about their individual performances, but are also concerned about how well the scene comes. We found no insecurity in them.

Source: The New Indian Express