Sundar C on ‘Aranmanai 4’: ‘Commerical filmmakers should be prepared for negative reviews’

Sundar C’s office is decked with photos of his family, framed graduation certificates of his daughters, and photographs of his wife, actor Khushbu, with her colleagues from the 80s and 90s. The importance of the word ‘family’ extends to his target audience as well, something he considers to be paramount for his 30-year-old career as a filmmaker. “Aranmanai worked as a franchise because it catered to the family audience,” says Sundar as we sit down to speak about the fourth film from the franchise.

Excerpts from an interview:

Two Tamil franchises with the most number of films are ‘Aranmanai’ and ‘Kanchana’ (Muni) series. What gives the genre this longevity?

It’s a package; if you take Aranmanai, it’s not just horror and humour. There is emotional bonding, nice visuals, an ensemble cast and divine intervention at the end. I like how all the films in the franchise — negating the flashback sequence — unravel within three to four days, with the climax happening in just a day. The challenge is to come up with a compelling end to that story within the timeframe. I believe all of this, along with good music and CG, make the franchise what it is.

The recent entries of the franchise saw negative reviews and yet became box-office hits. How do you see this dichotomy?

When you’re a commercial filmmaker, you should be prepared for negative reviews. Critics rate commercial films lower than other styles of films; I don’t mind it and believe commercial films aren’t their cup of tea. My target audience is families and children. You can’t watch Aranmanai with the same mentality as watching Schindler’s List. But imagine watching it like you’re seeing Lion King. I love animated films; my all-time favourite is Finding Nemo. That’s the point of view from which I take my films and I can’t expect critics to share the same perspective. If you notice a clothing store or a hotel, you’ll have customers choosing a range of items from whatever the shop has to offer. But in the film industry alone, you have to make one product to satisfy all sorts of audiences.

Unlike the previous films in this franchise, you have taken a concept this time: the Assamese folklore of Baak, quite similar to the Jinn concept from ‘Iruttu’ which you starred in. Where did that idea come from?

Iruttu is an underrated film directed by VZ Dorai sir, but it did well commercially. We were planning on doing Iruttu 2 and I was researching on my own for a knot, which is when my writers told me about the Baak folklore which I found to be interesting. Like Ilaiyaraaja sir’s music, folklore is also a part of our upbringing and this story took shape. Dorai sir was busy with Thalainagaram 2, so I thought I could make an Aranmanai film out of it.

I was not keen on acting this time. Directing, handling production and acting simultaneously is too difficult. I made sure there wasn’t a need for a second lead (which he played in the first three films) while scripting. But, in the end, the situation made me take up that role as well.

All the ‘Aranmanai’ films, despite not happening in the same universe, feature you in a character named Ravi…

Ravi and Saravanan are two names that I often use in my films; it’s nice to see that you’ve noticed it. Saravanan is the name of my cousin with whom I shared a cordial relationship, and only after he passed away did I realise how much I missed him. Using his name is more of a tribute. There’s no such reason behind Ravi; I prefer short names for both my leads and it’s usually names like Ravi, Maya or Indhu. During the scripting stage, we denote them as hero, heroine and villain, and it’s only during the shoot we come up with something.

Your casting choices for supporting roles have always been interesting and this franchise, in particular, has two films each starring Hansika Motwani, Andrea Jeremiah and Raashii Khanna. How do you go about it?

Aranmanai films are all female-fronted ones with strong women characters. Star power is required to pull it off, especially in the flashback sequences where we have to make an impact within a 15-minute window. The audience should also connect with the character and sympathise with her. That’s why those roles always feature heroines like Trisha, Hansika, Andrea, Tamannaah and Raashii.

All my films have an ensemble cast. The strength of a banyan tree is in its roots and the supporting cast forms the core strength of the story. I also cast a comedian as a main character so that the serious sequences are interesting. Usually, if a heroine has a maternal uncle, the options are the likes of Prakash Raj, Pasupathy or Kishore. But I roped in Santhanam for a film like Kalakalappu… he did everything a villain does, but the audience found his sequences to be hilarious.

You have worked with several legendary comedians, from Goundamani and Senthil to Vadivelu and Vivek, and now with Santhanam, Soori and Yogi Babu. How do you select your comedians?

My films will always have the best comedians of that period. The script is not made keeping a comedian in mind, but once we select an actor, we improvise it to suit their style. I can’t write a scene thinking of Santhanam and expect Yogi Babu to pull it off. Thankfully it has worked and even in this film, we have Yogi Babu, VTV Ganesh and Kovai Sarala amma. Manobala sir is a part of all the Aranmanai films, but before the shoot of this film, he was hospitalised. Three days before the shoot, we got Seshu, who did such a fabulous job that I wrote an important role for him in my next film, but we lost him as well. Makkal-ah sandhoshapaduravanga nammala vittu seekiram poidranga… like Vivek sir, Manobala sir, SPB sir and now Seshu.

Your films have been criticised at times for the glamour quotient in them… is this particularly necessary?

Until 2010, glamour was a part of films. Now, it’s not necessary and even the song we have shot for Aranmanai 4 (‘Achacho’) is for promotions alone. But I feel only I’m being questioned about this though all the major stars’ films have such songs. There’s a difference between glamour and vulgarity. My film won’t have wrong camera shots or vulgar dance moves and the glamour in it is made for all the sections of the audience. Enna mattum thappu solladheenga! (laughs).

You are entering your 30th year as a director and also your 18th as an actor. How has it been for the experienced filmmaker and the reluctant actor?

I’m still a reluctant actor (smiles). When I acted in my first film (Thalai Nagaram), I didn’t think I’d be answering such a question. I thought everyone would ask why I made such a move, and that it would be my first and last film. I was used to entering a set thinking about what I was going to shoot and profusely sweating as I worked behind the camera. As an actor, sitting for hours for makeup was tiring. It was stressful to direct myself, but acting under another director’s supervision was far easier.

As a director, I don’t know what got me so far. I feel that my judgment is similar to that of the audience. I watch a lot of films and I used to read a lot before getting addicted to streaming content. I’m not into social media as negative comments affect me. I do the kind of films I like based on my gut feeling.

When I want to go against the grain, the results are different. Action was a tough film to pull off, but it didn’t do too well, and so was the case with Coffee With Kadhal. I get comments like how my films feel too similar… but when I try something out of the box, I get asked why it doesn’t feel like my film! Between these two schools of thought, commercial success is what I look for while catering to my target audience. That actually made me want to take on Kalakalappu 3 as my next film, as it’s been a while since I did a full-length comedy feature.

Aranmanai 4is slated to release in theatres on May 3