'Rajinikanth is a humble person who has no airs of a star'

P Vasu doesn’t need an introduction — at least to the Tamil, Telugu and Kannada audience. With 60 movies in two decades, he has directed everyone, including Rajinikanth, Vijayakanth, Sathyaraj, Prabhu and K Bhagyaraj among many. For decades, he has been a source of confidence to his producers assuring them a ‘minimum guarantee’. Interspersed with action, family sentiments, romance and comedy, his priority is hero-centric films. 

Excerpts follow...

Most of your films have been with ‘big stars’. Why?

I play it safe when it comes to films, because top actors are commercially viable. They are also easy to work with and know their job well. In this case, producers are unlikely to lose. Irrespective of the stars I work with, I want my producers to be happy. Making money has become an integral part of filmmaking, realistic cinema and otherwise.

You made your directorial debut with Panneer Pushpangal (1981). Looking back how do you feel?

The process is like climbing a mountain, and I’m half way up. I have a lot more to go. I’m happy because I know I did good work. I treat every film as my debut. These days, everyone is thinking in a different way. To me, the biggest competition are young directors. Many of them seem promising. They are experimenting with the scripts. I was quite impressed when I saw Visaranai (2015) and Thani Oruvan (2015), I wondered why I haven’t made such films.

Tell us about Shivalinga. What can we expect?

Like everyone knows, it’s the Tamil remake of the Kannada film of the same name. I have tweaked the script according to the sensibilities of the Tamil audience. Lawrence plays a CID officer named Shiva and Ritika plays his wife. A murder happens, and how he nabs the culprit without any evidence forms the rest of the story. A pigeon witnesses the murder. How it helps him track the case adds suspense to the plot. After Chandramukhi, I am dealing with the horror genre. Shivalinga will be a mix of Kanchana (2011) and Chandramukhi (2005). When I screened the Kannada version, four producers offered their support — which made me think if I can take up the project in Tamil. Lawrence wanted to take it up and we completed the film in 80 days.  

What have you learnt by being here?

I am concerned about my creativity and independence. The present-day audience is smart. It has been a huge challenge for me to update myself. I discuss things with my daughter. I even showed the Shivalinga teaser to her first. Whenever she says she likes a film, I make it a point that I watch it. That way, I know what youngsters really want. I happened to see Remo (2016) and Velai Illa Pattadhaari (2014). The story hasn’t changed, and it’s the same old technique. Only the treatment and the approach to the script have changed. All films are commercial. The artist only elevates the film to an artistic standard.

Tell us about working with larger-than-life heroes like Superstar...

Rajini sir and I have worked in films like Panakkaran (1990), Mannan (1992), Uzhaippali (1993) among others. We share a wonderful rapport with each other. He is a humble person who has no airs of a star. I narrated a script to him a few years ago, but it didn’t materialise. But I hope we team up sometime in future. He wants to do something big. And, he’s clear about that. He doesn’t want to choose ordinary scripts because he’s a hero of the masses and is careful about not disappointing his fans. Also, one of my dreams is to direct Kamal Haasan. I spoke to him once. I am waiting to hear from him. (Smiles)

What’s next?

Every film after release is a pain. I have had my share of hits and flops. The whole business of filmmaking has become tough today. Anyone can direct a film, but releasing it is a headache. I am also doing a film in Telugu with Balakrishna!

Is there a Mannan remake is on cards?

Yes, when Lawrence told me that he’s working on Moondru Mugam (1982) remake, we got talking. He told me he’d be interested in doing Mannan remake. It’s confirmed. But, it hasn’t been decided if it’s a fresh script or the remake of Mannan.

(The piece was originally published for The New Indian Express)