VidaaMuyarchi isn’t your regular mass entertainer: Magizh Thirumeni

CHENNAI: Just a few more days are left for Ajith’s VidaaMuyarchi’s release and everyone is gung-ho about it. However, Magizh Thirumeni is his usual self and maintains a calm demeanour through the course of conversation. The teaser of the movie that was released a few days ago was action-packed and as our mind travels back in time to the teaser day, Magizh breaks the ice, and says, “Let me make one thing clear. As the director of the film, I would want the audience to know that this film is not their regular, mass action entertainer, where they will get to see a hero, who is larger-than-life. I would want them to come to theatres with an open mind, free from expectations and watch the movie. VidaaMuyarchi is about a common man—someone like you and me, who faces a problem and fights it with limited powers that a common man has. This is what Ajith sir wanted to do and I did that for him.”

Both Ajith and Magizh Thirumeni are known for their slick action thrillers and doing another film in the genre would certainly have been a cakewalk for the duo. But they had other plans. “Obviously. The audience would expect an action extravaganza when we both come together to make a film. That is not really the case here. There are times when I have wondered why Ajith sir would call an action director like me to execute such a film. Then he said ‘Magizh it’s time for us to step out of our comfort zone and take a risk’. And I believe it has paid off well because when Ajith sir saw the film last week while dubbing for it, he said ‘This is the kind of film I want to make’. And what better compliment I can get than making a film that satisfied him,” he smiles.

The film also has Trisha, who previously collaborated with Ajith, Arjun who also teamed up with Ajith in Mankatha and Regina, who will be playing an antagonist yet again after Chakra. “This is the first time in my career I have directed a film which I haven’t written. I have contributed to the screenplay and there is some originality as well to it. Also, I had the liberty to add certain characters and tweak certain things a bit to the sensibility of our audience. Regina’s character is completely original and is written from scratch. Once I wrote it, I added it upon Ajith’s sir. Let alone Ajith sir, you will see a very bewitching, charming Trisha in VidaaMuyarchi and a magnetic, appealing Arjun sir with a swagger. And Regina will steal the show. I wanted to cast her in Kalaga Thalaivan but that role required another kind of an actor. I always wondered why she hasn’t reached the heights she should have. I am sure that will happen with this film,” he remarks.

The teaser music of VidaaMuyarchi and the first single Sawadeeka have been acing the charts. Magizh reveals that he was just on the phone with Anirudh Ravichander before talking to us. “We share a great working relationship. He is a force of nature. Once in 25 years, a composer like this emerges and he is one such, who is a prodigy. I term Anirudh as a ‘miracle’. He is always open to suggestions and what I trust more than anything else is his instinct. He has the knack of understanding the kind of film he is working on and what the film requires. I have grown to trust him and I keep telling him that he is one of my biggest strengths,” says the filmmaker.

Apart from the above mentioned cast, the rough terrains of Azerbaijan play a crucial role to the storyline. “We went on a recce to Baku and Abu Dhabi. We zeroed in on the outskirts of Baku as the script demanded it. The story is also a road show. Also, Ajith sir felt he was confined to a studio with his last couple of films. In VidaaMuyarchi he was happy to be shooting in an open terrain.,” he adds.

With just a few more hours left for the trailer, we ask him to throw some light on what we could expect. “I have never lauded my films. The trailer will be out and I leave it to the audience and the critic. They can tell us how it looks,” he signs off.