Of chords, notes and direction

We have seen lyricists turning into actors, playback singers and even dialogue writers in the past, in Tamil cinema. Perhaps for the first time, a lyricist is wielding the megaphone for a movie in K’town. Yes, we are talking about national award winner Pa Vijay who, after successfully donning the greasepaint for films like Gnabagangal and Kalaignar Karunanidhi’s Ilaignan, is all set with his maiden production as well as directorial venture Strawberry.

A horror thriller based on real life incidents that took place in 2013 in the city, Vijay says, “The movie is a thriller and has an important message for society.”

 On turning a filmmaker he says, “I have been in the industry for the past 20 years. When I finished the script and wanted to act as the lead, I could not find a producer.  But with my vast experience, I thought I could give a shot at directing. I also decided to produce Strawberry. It would also establish my creative skills.”

 He plays a simple person, a call-taxi driver, and doesn’t have any punch lines in the movie.

Vijay says that CG (Computer Graphics) is the real hero of the movie. “We have extensively used computer graphics for about 40 minutes in the movie and it wasn’t an easy task at all, but actually challenging work that took seven months to complete,” he adds.

He has roped in Avni Modi, who is from Bollywood and with her it looks like there’s glamour aplenty.

Being a lyricist, it was but natural for Vijay to emphasise music. “Yes, I wanted to give a new sound, and sat with Taj Noor for almost a year for the songs. There are six tracks from different genres. Actor Siddharth has done the title track and Imman and GV Prakash have also lent their voices for western numbers.”

Ask him how good he is at dancing, he says, “There’s an opening song with Robo Shankar who is a good dancer. For me it was new, and I was initially worried. I took proper rehearsal with my master Ashok Raja for a week before the actual shoot.”

Samuthirakani and Devyani appear in crucial roles. “Kani anna was so impressed with the script that he gave me dates at a stretch,” he says.

Ask him why chose this intriguing title, knowing well he would lose the tax exemption, and he replies, “There’s a suspense character whose name is Strawberry. I can’t reveal it now. Moreover, I came to know that horror ghost films would be awarded only U/A Certification. So I never attempted to change the title. I want children with parental guidance should come to the theatre as there are many commercial elements which they would enjoy,” he concludes.