‘My films are script driven’

He may not have hit the bull’s-eye with his debut flick Samurai with Vikram, but he made heads turn with his subsequent blockbuster Kaadhal and revolutionized contemporary Tamil cinema.
His strength is getting the right cast together, consisting mainly of newcomers!

He is none other than Balaji Shakthivel, who is all set to rock the film scene with yet another realistic movie Vazhakku Enn 18/9, produced by Lingusamy and UTV. “Lingusamy was to produce Kaadhal with Dhanush in the lead and he even sent me to Malaysia to narrate the script to him.

But it didn’t work out due to various reasons and director Shankar stepped in and made the movie,” revealed Balaji, at the audio launch of his movie in the city. In Vazhakku…, Balaji is launching four new faces in lead roles — Sri, Mithun, Urmila and Manisha. He speaks to DC in an exclusive.

With the kind of global accreditation Kaadhal got, you could have easily made films with big stars. But you chose to do something smaller like Kaloori, and now, Vazhakku…

“True! Even Vikram was ready to give me dates despite Samurai’s lackluster show. But all said and done, I work for my inner satisfaction. I am not after money and I have enough for my survival. My films are script and character driven, rather than grandeur and actors,” replies a brutally honest Balaji.
Everyone is saying that this will be a very important film in Tamil cinema. Comment!

“Like how Kaadhal’s climax gave a jolt, this film also has a riveting end based on a shocking real-life incident that happened in Bihar. I have also tried out something new in the screenplay and narration.

Also, I wanted a different sound for the background score and hence introduced Prasanna, who composed for the Oscar-winning documentary Smile Pinky. Yet another big aspect is that the entire film has been shot in a still camera by Vijay Milton.”