From ‘Adventures of Omanakuttan’ to ‘Iblis’ and now with ‘Kala’, Rohith VS is on a mission to entertain the audience and inspire the next-gen aspirants with his unique choice of subjects and Intelligent Moviemaking.
The Star Director was kind enough for a quick chat with ClubbyTalks about ‘Kala’, OTT platforms and Tovino Thomas over a call.
What made you do an action film? Your previous movies: Adventures of Omanakuttan and Iblis were completely different genres?
“ I am not planning to stick to a genre at all, it completely depends on the subject or the plot. For example, ‘Adventures of Omanakuttan‘ was about a man with a dark past, losing his memory and gradually coming back to life. And, as far as ‘Kala‘ is concerned, it is not an Action movie, it is a psychological thriller, driven by conflict. We portrayed the ego battle through action sequences that’s all.”
Are there any process changes while making a movie for OTT platforms? Does it influence your process in anyways?
“ No. I don’t think it does, a Filmmaker doesn’t have to get influenced by anything, be it a Theatre release or an OTT release, you need to do justice to the storyline ultimately and perhaps create a Movie with Originality, that’s my take on that. “
“ However, in the case of ‘Kala’ or my previous Films, I would say that they were meant for OTT platforms, it could be my choice of the movie subject. Though from a Theatre experience point of view, my movies have had a lot to offer, our Theatre culture is different yo know, these are not the movies people generally prefer to watch in Theatres, at least I like to think so. “
“ In any case, to answer your question, it does not matter until you do justice to the subject, Theatre release or not. “
How was it working with Tovino? Did you have Tovino in mind while writing?
” I had discussed this with Tovi ( Tovino Thomas ) at the conception stage of the idea, even before writing. It was written only after he liked the idea. The character demanded a masculine or an alpha male image, the image of a Hero and that was Tovi. “
Working with him was a lot of fun, he is a Director’s Actor, he understands the Directors need and acts accordingly. He dedicates himself to the Cinema and for all the cinema asks.
You seem to like to experiment a lot with every film, should we as an audience anticipate future films to be surprised like this?
“ See, I am not experimenting with anything, perhaps my choice of subjects is unique. I don’t think it’s fair to call it experimenting just because my subjects of cinema are fresh. I am trying to do proper storytelling by exploring the less traversed subjects and perhaps that could be the reason it seems like experimenting to you. “
“ And, I would not be trying to surprise anyone with anything. See, the lockdown gave people some time to reflect upon, and a Cinema that talks about one’s ego and the repercussions it has in one’s life made a lot of sense and I am glad it worked out. “
Sumesh Moor has done a great job? what can you tell us about him?
” Sumesh Moor is a very Intelligent Actor, if you look at his FB account it says “Born to Act”. He is not doing anything in his life other than acting, it’s like he has surrendered himself to the art. A very intense actor who understands the language of Art. I found him to be someone with high artistic intelligence, it was wonderful working with him. “
The Second half is completely action-oriented, was it decided, could you tell us something about it?
“ Yes, at first thought the idea was to have the second half of the movie picturize the conflict between the two lead characters. While the first half of the movie depicts the wrongs of the lead character, who is our Hero and, the flashback of the newcomer reveals the injustice that happened to him. It is only a matter of time that there is a conflict. “
“ So, we tried to portray this conflict between the right and the wrong via a Fight as to who will win the war. So, Gazzali (Basidh Al Gazzali), myself, and Ameer (Irfan Ameer ) designed the scenes in a way that justifies the drama that we have built so far. And Phoenix Prabhu is the stunt director, this is his first independent venture and it has come out exceptionally well. “
Tell us about the Background score of the film.
“ More than Background music it is the background sounds, Dawn (Dawn Vincent ) has handled the complete department of Sound, he is the Director of Audiography, he has been researching this from the beginning of the Project and he has successfully created a new musical experience in the Movie. “
It says ‘Based on true Incidents’ in the movie, is it true?
” See, throughout the Movie, the emphasis has been given to Nature, it is a significant part of the narrative. There was an incident that happened if you recall, an Elephant was murdered after it was fed a fruit stuffed with a firecracker. This episode had happened at the time I was deliberating on this idea of the film. And, that is what the true incident basis is all about. ”
What are your upcoming projects?
“ Nothing as of now. The Pandemic kind of helped me make ‘Kala’. For now, there is nothing in the pipeline to disclose. “
We hope to see spectacular cinema from Rohith’s vision and interactions like this to help the aspiring artists learn and get inspired from the whole process. Kudos to the Team of ‘Kala’ for all the success.
