Director Balaji Tharaneetharan whose last outing was Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom, is back on track with Oru Pakka Kathai after two years, starring Kalidas Jayaram, son of Malayalam actor Jayaram, and Megha Akash, in the lead role. “I want my films to have a connect with the common people. It’s not that I didn’t write anything in the meantime. Well, I did. But I decide to tell a story only when it entertains and appeals to me as an audience. So I take my own time to do movies,” he says.
So what’s Oru Pakka Kathai all about? “It is rooted in reality as to how different people react hypothetically to different situations. Yes, the story is inspired by real-life incidents. There’s also a social angle to the story, and such a script hasn’t been handled in Kollywood before. At the same time, I don’t think the movie is preachy, and neither is it a comedy,” he smiles. The filmmaker has always been comfortable working with newbies, which he thinks is his forte. “Even in my first film Naduvula... I worked with a bunch of fresh and new talent. I believe working with newcomers has a lot of advantages. You can mould them the way you want to. They are open to criticism and feedback. And of course, they have no date issues,” he laughs.
Speaking about roping Kalidas in, Balaji says, “When I was thinking and confused as to who should I cast in the movie, on television, one day I saw him perform mimicry. He impressed me so much and I called him for the audition. There were rehearsals and Kalidas took acting lessons from a person in Koothu-P-Pattarai. He has done a fabulous job as a college guy.” With many new filmmakers experimenting, Balaji feels that he wants to deliver something different every time. “I would say when audiences come to the theatre, they should not expect that this one will be on the lines of Naduvula... This belongs to a different genre altogether,” he concludes.
