‘Change of title from Vadakkan to Rail is setback, story still a huge plus’

CHENNAI: Writer-director Bhaskar Sakthi’s Rail is all set to hit the screens on June 21. The film was previously titled Vadakkan until the makers were asked by the regional censor board to change the title as it is used as a derogatory term to refer to people from the north. “Asking us to change the title is indeed a setback. The title of Vadakkan would have justified the story. However, we had to change it to Rail after the censor. On a positive note, I still believe that we have a strong content on hand, which will bring the audience to the theatres upon its release,” says Bhaskar Sakthi.

The trailer of the film was well-received for its reality as well as the performances from the cast. “I am glad the first impression has been favourable to us. If you think that we have left the suspense elements for the audience to watch in theatres, there are things beyond that Rail has in it. There are emotions as you could see and reality in what the cast has delivered. There is more to it,” he says with a smile.

Bhaskar Sakthi says that he penned the story based on his observations over the last few years. “We go to a restaurant or even in a street, we see people from the north moving around in our state in huge groups. I started penning the story based on my experiences from a specific incident. The story not only talks about the identity crisis but also how we see them and what they perceive of us in day-to-day life,” adds Bhaskar.

Having written stories for highly successful films like Karthi’s Naan Mahan Alla and Vishnu Vishal’s Vennila Kabaddi Kuzhu, Rail marks his directorial debut. “I always make it a point to stay a little away when others direct my story. With Rail, I had the complete freedom to play around with my writing, visually,” he remarks. Produced by Discovery Cinemas, the story is headlined by Kungumaraj, Vairamala, Parvez Mehru and Ramesh Vaidya among others. Bhaskaran lauds his cast and says, “They have delivered an outstanding performance.” Had he thought of any star in mind when it came to roping in the actors? He replies, “Not really. Had I cast stars in Rail, the story would have been tweaked to their needs,” he opens up.

There has been a constant debate on the dearth of writers in Tamil cinema, which is also a crucial factor on why there haven’t been consistent profit at the box-office. “It is a two-way thing. Star performers should realise the importance of writers in the industry. Us writers should also understand what stars look for and what their fanbase needs. If we could strike this balance, Tamil cinema will thrive. I have been seeing how Malayalam cinema is celebrated. It is because their films are content-oriented and stars in Kerala value their writers,” states Bhaskar.