“After lot of discouragement and rejections, I got my first break with Vanakkam Chennai. Although my scripts were received well, other factors like being a woman, a producer's wife and having a political background sort of slowed down the process,” says Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi, who returns to the marquee with her second directorial venture Kaali with Vijay Antony playing the lead.
In an exclusive to DC, she expresses her doubts on whether women directors get their due recognition in Tamil cinema. She also elaborates on Kaali, working with Antony, the plus and minuses of being big producer's wife and collaboration with Udhay.
Ask her as why she took such a big gap between her films, pat she replies.
“That's how it is in the film industry. It can happen overnight or it can take years. You need talent and luck working in your favour I guess. And since Vijay Antony has a penchant for out of the box scripts, Kaali happened.”
Vijay Antony is one actor who chooses characters with dark shades.
On picking him for the lead protagonist Kiru says, “I didn't zero in on him, rather it was the other way around. After Pichaikkaran, I came to know he was looking for scripts. Going with the notion that he prefers dark themes, the script I narrated was a crime thriller. Only then did he tell me that he's looking to break away from that image and wanted to try something different. I requested him to give me another chance and narrated Kaali to him. On the same day, he agreed to do it as this was exactly what he was looking for.
The trailer sounds intriguing..... What's Kaali all about ?
Kaali is full of surprises. It won’t disappoint audiences. The expectations the trailer has created will be translated onto the screen. It has emotions, comedy, romance, complexity of relationships and action and everything rolled into one, which will go well with family audiences.
Between actor, music composer and producer Antony, who was the most challenging to work with?
It has been a great collaboration so far with actor/ music composer/ producer Vijay Antony. We found a good comfort level from the start. He gave me a free hand in production and nowhere have we compromised in the making. Since they gave me full freedom, it was a bigger responsibility for me to keep an eye on the budget
He also gave me song options when I wanted. I was afraid initially if I can ask him for options. But he was even more eager to give me different music tracks. Arumbey and Nooraai happened after 2 to 3 tracks.
Unlike Bollywood, there are very few women directors around in K'town. In this male dominated industry, do you think women filmmakers are given due recognition especially when big actors are concerned? (Do they at least listen to a lady filmmaker's script?)
(Thinks for a while) I wouldn't blame it all on the males in the industry. What I have come to understand in this 4 years between Vanakkam Chennai and Kaali is yes, you do have some hurdles as a woman in trying to convince a producer and actor. But beyond that, when a script excites them, then the gates open up. So yes, we do have to be persistent and resilient but it can happen when you set your mind to it. More women should come out and try. I did have to face a lot of rejections to get my break, despite my scripts being received well. The trick is to not to give up in between and to strive harder.
Your husband Udhayanidhi is a big producer and actor and you hail from a big political family. Tell is about the plus and minuses
The plus is that it was easier to get appointments with other producers and actors. The minus is people were doubtful about my scripts making them wonder if they weren't good enough as my family banner Red Giant wasn't backing them up (smiles).
Possibility of collaborating with hubby on a movie
We both live in the moment, we are that kind of people. Maybe it'll happen maybe it won’t. I don't know (laughs).
Future offerings
My next project will be a romantic drama, something very close to my heart. It’s something a lot of women can relate to as well.
