People love smart content, Laththi will be one: Vishal Krishna

CHENNAI: Vishal Krishna talks to us as he gears up for a long day of promotions in Andhra Pradesh.

“I am covering 50 cities in the next few hours and I will be meeting the people,” he begins. When we crosschecked whether its 15 or 50, he clarifies that it is 50. “Five zero. I need to do this. I hope you saw the video I shared and the love of people was obvious in them. This wasn’t to promote Laththi but I took them time to thank them for accepting me despite the ups and downs I have had in my career,” he smiles.

The actor-producer says he still has a lot to prove in the big screen and is not ready to rest on laurels.

“There still is a lot left for me to do as an actor. If I believed that I have achieved enough I wouldn’t be out here to meet people and would have posted a couple of video bytes on my social media accounts and would have been in Chennai. I haven’t even seen amma and appa’s face in a few days now. However, when I was invited in a couple of colleges to promote Laththi, I requested them to provide admissions for my kids who are underprivileged. I managed to get 25 seats this time. MIT-Mysuru was one among them. I see this as a win-win situation,” he says with some pride in his tone

We now talk about Laththi, a script that Vishal has been going gaga over ever since he listened to the narration from director A Vinoth.

“Some people can narrate a story well but cannot execute it properly. I have ghost directed such films and I don’t want to reveal names. But Vinoth is a director who knows what he has to do for a film to do well at the BO and the movie has come out really good.Times have changed.

We are catering films to audience in the post-pandemic period and people have been consuming smart content. If you have to survive, you will have to give them the best out of six films that release every week.

You cannot bet big on OTT as the platforms too take only good content with star value. The next 18 months will be tough for the movie industry. I advice small-time producers to wait for a while before they dive into making a film,” he adds.

Vishal says that Laththi has its own moments and will be one of his best films after Avan Ivan.

“There is a six-minute scene in the film where I didn’t go by the book. I didn’t read the script paper and there weren’t many camera angles to it. I told them that I want to do what I feel like and the entire scene was an impromptu.

In terms of performances, I rate it on a par with Avan Ivan. Also, the film’s Hindi version is releasing on December 30 and I have dubbed in Hindi for the first time because no one else would know the emotion for that 6-minute scene.

And Yuvan... kalakitaan....kalakitaan (He has created magic). Laththi belongs to Yuvan and Peter Hein master-- the last 45 minutes, they have taken the story to another level,” he tells us.

Vishal has his hands full in 2023. “I am off to London next week for Thupparivaalan 2, my debut directorial recce. After that I am taking a break and will be in the US. I don’t have the time once I am back as I have Mark Antony, Thupparivaalan 2 shoot and another project with Stone Bench.

I also intend to start the pre-production of my second directorial that revolves around pets. As a director, I am certainly looking forward to directing Thalapathy Vijay soon,” opens up the actor on his directorial plans.

Thupparivalan 2 has been in the cans for longtime and Mysskin on several occasions spoke about patching up with Vishal. “Mysskin is a good filmmaker and a wonderful human being. But I will never forgive him as a producer for what he did to me with Thupparivaalan 2.

To clarify further rumours, I have rewritten the story and will be directing it. I am glad I put the movie on hold because if I still believed in Mysskin, Vishal Film Factory would have tanked. Meanwhile, I enjoy being an actor for now which is why I am signing projects for other banners. VFF’s next film will be Thupparivaalan 2,” Vishal remarks.

There have been several speculations on his absenteeism on the sets and we ask him about it. “If I did not show up how do you think I would have completed 143 days of Laththi, 75 per cent of Mark Antony and signed a film for Stone Bench.

Karthik Subbaraj would have thought twice to have me on board if I was sleeping my days off. No one talks about me shooting for 100 days and of course there were days I was late to shoot because of my migraine. Those are the news that come out, which is funny,” he laughs.

There has been a remarkable change in his approach lately. The Nadigar Sangam’s General Secretary and once a Producer Council President has gone quiet for sometime now.

“My visit to Kerala and Kasi changed my approach towards life. I was in Kerala for an ayurvedic treatment and I switched my phone off for 20 days. I was into a digital decluttering mode and it was peaceful. Also, after my visit to Kasi, where I saw the rich and poor resting in peace at the same place, I realised what life is.

So, I have gone quiet and my reasons are valid. Also, I am into pranic healing and I visit psychiatrist to whom I open up. I believe that mental health is as important as our physical health. I needed to speak a few things out and I don’t see any problem in it. I want people to open up as well to their confidants,” he reveals.

On a concluding note, he shares update about the Nadigar Sangam building as well. “The iron rods have rusted, thanks to the previous office-bearers. The loan has been sanctioned and the work will resume soon,” says the general secretary. So his wedding has to wait a bit. “Yes, the day building’s walls are painted, my parents will start searching for a bride for me,” he concludes.