‘Vidaa Muyarchi’ was suggested by Ajith Kumar: Magizhi Thirumeni interview-OxBig News Network

One can intuit when someone is speaking consciously, measuring every sentence they utter, choosing words carefully to avoid misinterpretations, or spilling more details than necessary. Throughout my conversation with Magizh Thirumeni, the filmmaker seems to be confident but as if he is coming from a place of having cooked a grand meal from an untested recipe.

For over the last 15 years, the filmmaker known for making gritty, pulsating, and engaging action thrillers like Thadam, Thadaiyara Thaakka, and Meaghamann, has been waiting for a call-up to direct Ajith Kumar, a superstar known for his tryst with the commercial action genre. “I have known Mr Suresh Chandra” — popular PRO and Ajith Kumar’s manager — “for over 15 years, but I never once asked for an opportunity to pitch a story to Ajith sir,” says Magizh, noting that he was aware that he had to prepare and prove himself as a filmmaker for such an opportunity to knock on his doors. And when it did, what followed surprised Magizh, as it should surprise all awaiting to watch his much-anticipated film with Ajith, Vidaa Muyarchi.

When Suresh sir said I was directing Ajith sir’s next film, I was stunned for a few seconds. He then said that we are starting shoots in ten days.” Now, the latter part of the sentence is where everything changes for Magizh, where he and Ajith begin a project that seems so unlike anything they have ever done. “Then I got a call from Ajith sir, who in his iconic baritone voice said something I will never forget: ‘Magizh, trust me blindly.’ To this moment, the trust has been intact. He explained that he already had a story idea and we would make a film with that. So the source material was suggested to me by sir.” For the first time in his career, Magizh agreed to direct a film not based on his original story but with the agreement that he would execute somebody else’s vision.

This reveal piques interest but also changes what everyone believed Vidaa Muyarchi to be. Audiences and fans have been waiting to see how Ajith fits into Magizh Thirumeni’s world of cinema and how he has shaped into the protagonists we have come to see in Magizh’s films. “I wouldn’t go so far as to say that this film is present in a Magizh Thirumeni world, as grandiose as it sounds, because the source material is not mine,” Magizh reasserts.

The filmmaker puts it on record that this wouldn’t be a ‘100% Magizh Thirumeni’ film — something we have heard from filmmakers while working with A-listers. You would assume that Magizh had to have altered his ways for the film to suit Ajith Kumar’s stardom. But Magizh denotes the opposite. “While this is not a 100% Magizh Thirumeni film, it wouldn’t be 100% the kind of films Ajith sir’s fans are eager to see,” he says.

In a move long due for Ajith Kumar, the superstar will be seen as a common man in the film and “not a larger-than-life hero who can bash up 50 guys in an instant.” When Ajith pitched the story of Vidaa Muyarchi, Magizh was apprehensive for a few reasons. Firstly, this was anything like the film he had dreamed of making with Ajith. “I was hoping for it to be an action entertainer, in my style of course, with logic and realism, but with a larger-than-life Ajith Kumar.” The story of Vidaa Muyarchi was far from that. “I hesitated because sir’s current stature is far beyond the limitations of the central character in the source material. I wondered if the fans would be ready to accept it” — Magizh confesses that he continues to ponder over some of these doubts — “and I wondered why sir chose me to do something so far removed from the kind of action films I make, and from the films his fans expect him to make.” Before he could pose the question, Ajith told Magizh it was time for them to step out of their comfort zones. “That has been the guiding vision, and AK sir has been the pillar of strength right from the first day of this project.”

This conversation essentially conveys that after a long time, a superstar in Tamil cinema has opted to go for a pure-genre film, as opposed to a commercial film that is a mixed bag of genres. The traditional commercial formula has been a viable option for big stars since multiple commercial elements ensured something or the other kept the audiences engaged. Films were ‘packaged’ with songs, fights, and comedy to offer such support. “What amazes me is that for some reason, this A-lister, one of the kings of South Indian cinema, has the guts to choose a script in which he plays a common man, tackling huge issues with common man powers and not superhero powers.”

Ajith, Magizh adds, was so opposed to making the film in the conventional commercial cinema language that he kept striking down whenever an idea seemed ‘massy’. “This was when I asked him for a month to work on the material because I knew we couldn’t present it how it was. He struck down anything ‘massy’ and said, ‘No, we are not doing that kind of a film. We are making a very sensible film.’” Magizh confesses that Vidaa Muyarchi is a confident but risky attempt for a superstar like Ajith, “but an audience who enters theatres without preconceived notions would surely find an engaging film. I would like them to see a film for itself and not come into the theatre expecting a larger-than-life action extravaganza. It is the kind of film they would go home and ruminate about,” he says.

On Ajith’s car accident, and collaborating with Anirudh Ravichander, and more:

A major talking point of Vidaa Muyarchi was the footage that producers Lyca Productions released, showing a terrible accident that Ajith and actor Arav suffered while driving a Hummer in Azerbaijan. “It’s harrowing even to think about,” says Magizh, recollecting how nobody anticipated a Hummer, a heavy vehicle that hardly tumbles, to crash in that fashion. “We had just finished a take, and for a technical reason, the cinematographer asked for another take. During that second take, there was a moment when I felt that the car was moving in a way it wasn’t supposed to. Remember, this was Ajith sir, who we have never seen lose control of the vehicle, driving at a very high speed. Before we could make sense of it, the car tumbled.” A flabbergasted crew ran towards the vehicle, relieved to find Ajith, having broken open the window, escaped without major injuries. “We kept parts of that take because that was as real as it could get. A major reason for the accident is that Ajith sir used a different Hummer than what he regularly uses. Like horses, each vehicle has its individual characteristic, and it takes time for a driver to get in sync.”

On the technical front, Magizh has once again worked with his frequent collaborator, film editor NB Srikanth, whose proficiency in carving an engaging visual narrative was on glorious display in Magizh’s Thadam. “Even when I first met him as a prospective editor, when he was a part of the Srikanth-Praveen duo, there was some sort of compatibility. He is concerned about carrying out and executing the director’s vision. Our friendship has sustained to this day and will continue to do so. I like to keep with myself the honest technicians. I want them to voice out if they feel something is wrong in filmmaking. Srikanth always voices out his opinions, and such opinions keep me going on the right track.”

When it comes to music, Magizh found the opportunity to work with the most sought-after music composer in Tamil: Anirudh Ravichander. “I remember the time his first album was released. I was so surprised by how fresh the sound and tune structure felt. The only other time I felt something similar was when Roja was released in 1992. Then Ani went on to do what he did.” Magizh calls Ani a force of nature. “He is a miracle composer. The moment I met him, he put me at ease, and it has been a terrific journey. He’s enthusiastic and a guy who never gives up until he gives his all. He isn’t that adamant person who says, ‘Do you know who I am?’ He is always open to ideas and discussions.”

Having started his career with a romance film (2010’s Mundhinam Paartheney) and having done only actioners since then, Magizh wishes to explore other genres. “I would like to try my hand at every genre there is. Every script I write comes out with lots of humour; I then keep striking all that humour out. I also want to do a romance film. In fact, Trisha was saying that I should do an out-and-out romance film.” His next, however, will be a commercial actioner. “I want the audience to know that larger-than-life extravaganzas can be logical and close to reality. Those films are getting made in Europe. Our audiences are also ready for it, and don’t want mindless rehashes of age-old cliches. The audiences have evolved. It is time the filmmakers evolve as well.”