Biju feels language has never been a barrier
Biju Viswanath
He has had Urdu, English, Irish, Italian, Sinhala and Japanese movies to his credit, but Orange Mittai is a Tamil debut for international filmmaker Biju Viswanath. He is excited about the film, which is largely based on a relationship between a father and son. “This story is set in the unlikeliest of circumstances. There’s no melodrama. There’s not even much drama. Of course, certain incidents are inspired by my father and Vijay Sethupathi’s father,” says the Thiruvananthapuram-based director. Ask Biju if he makes movies aiming for film festivals, he says he doesn’t intend to do so. “One time, the film gets selected. But the next time, fortunes don’t favour me. No director can make films exclusively for film fests. You can say it is a coincidence that my films have made it to film festivals,” he tells DC.
Biju feels language has never been a barrier. “Vijay was my co-writer for Orange Mittai. I feel the movie would have made sense even in Urdu without any subtitles. My films aren’t verbal. They deal more with emotions,” he smiles. Biju recollected how Orange Mittai happened. “I met Vijay before Pizza. I have always admired him for his passion for films and script knowledge. When I approached him with the script of Orange Mittai and even offered to produce it. Vijay Sethupathi has done complete justice to the older man role. It’s surprising to have been pulled out by someone, who’s actually not that age,” he explains.
Biju feels he wants to experiment more with various genres and push through the clutters. “I am a self-taught filmmaker and I am here to make movies, which doesn’t depress the audience,” Biju adds. What’s next? “I am doing another film with Vijay Sethupathi. He liked the script and the scripting work is currently being done. But I would love to make Paulo Coelho’s Alchemist into a feature some day,” he signs off.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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