Interview: A decade of Karthik Subbaraj

Ten years ago, Karthik Subbaraj spurred a movement in Tamil cinema with his debut ‘Pizza’, a horror film with great twists. The film’s success led to producers collaborating with new-gen filmmakers, who told unusual stories on moderate budgets.

In that period, actors like Vijay Sethupathi and Bobby Simha rose up the ranks in fine fashion while filmmakers like Karthik, Nalan Kumaraswamy (‘Soodhu Kavvum’), Balaji Mohan (‘Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi’), N Mannikandan (‘Kaaka Muttai’) and Gokul (‘Idharkuthaane Aasaipattai Balakumara’), having ventured into cinema through short films, became architects of a golden period in the industry.

Today, pan India is the buzz word in Indian cinema, which is responding to the huge blow dealt by the pandemic. Karthik, after hits like ‘Jigarthanda’ (2014) and ‘Petta’ (2019), is in a re-invention mode after the likes of ‘Jagame Thandiram’ (2021) and ‘Mahaan’ (2022) struggled to excite people.

The director spoke to Vivek M V of Showtime on the sidelines of the 5th Innovative International Film Festival, held in Bengaluru recently. Excerpts:

In ten years, you have given huge hits, made inroads into the OTT space, formed a formidable banner and lastly, had issues with your producers. What has the decade taught you?

I think it’s taught me to be patient. I am not a patient guy. I get restless very easily. I learnt that patience is crucial, not just while making films but even while writing the script or developing an idea. It’s better to give some time instead of rushing. ‘Jigarthanda’ got delayed for six months after it was ready due to some unnecessary incidents. I thought I could change the situation but I learnt later that in the industry, there are certain things beyond the control of the filmmaker. He just needs to wait.

Now that we are aware of the famous ‘Karthik Subbaraj’ twist, his regular use of Ilaiyaraaja songs in his films and his Tarantino-inspired flamboyance, is it time he thinks of reinventing himself?

I have tried to reinvent myself in every film of mine. I don’t want to be associated with a particular style of filmmaking. For instance, people were disappointed that there were no twists in ‘Jagame Thandiram’. But the fact is the film didn’t need twists. It was more of an emotional story. With every outcome of my film, I am trying to change as a writer and director.

Do you think Tamil cinema can witness another movement of smaller films doing well at the box office?

I am not sure about it. I made Pizza in Rs 1.5 crore and it collected around 15 crore. Today, we don’t see new Tamil films of that size tasting such success because only the big-budget, action films are doing well at theatres. The producers, keeping the theatrical performance in mind, are hesitant on fresh attempts and that leaves new talents in limbo.

In that case, what does the success of ‘Thiruchitrambalam’ mean to the industry?

It’s good that ‘Thiruchitrambalam’ did well because it tells you that audience will watch any kind of film, as far its well-made and entertaining. The film came as a perfect breather when mostly films mounted on a huge scale were doing well.

Does this uncertainty of what works and what doesn’t worry you?

It’s better to not think too much about external factors while writing a script. The makers of ‘KGF’ might not have predicted this level of reach when they started off but see how the two films are celebrated today. At the same time, it would be a wrong approach to set off thinking we can make another ‘KGF’.