A heart to heart rendezvous with Vikram K. Kumar where he talks about his next directorial venture; BIG Picture’s supernatural Thriller ‘Yaavarum Nalam’ and his passion for films. Vikram who has won a national award for his short film 'Silent Screen' has been an assistant director to the applauded filmmaker Priyadarshan. Two films old Vikram has also directed a Telugu film 'Ishtam' (produced by Ramoji Rao) and a Tamil film 'Alai' with Simbu & Trisha.

 

1. What is 13B all about? How do you describe the film as its director?

13B is a supernatural thriller. It’s a story that is never been told before. It took me almost two years to write this script and the outcome is above my expectations so much so that I can proudly say it will be considered amongst the best supernatural thriller so far.

 

2. What made you cast Madhavan in the lead? How do you describe his character, Manohar?

My film is a bilingual so I needed an actor who was not only at par performance wise but also someone who was comfortable with both Tamil and Hindi. I had to shoot the Tamil version and the Hindi version simultaneously, Maddy (Madhavan) switched between the languages without rehearsals making my task simpler and faster. And the story of the film progresses along with the Manohar (Maddy’s character) and I could not have asked for a better actor than him to portray this role.

 

3. There were rumors about Kareena being paired opposite Madhavan in the film, is that true? Did you approach her? Why did you choose Neetu finally?

No. No, not at all (laughs off). Kareena was never even considered forget about approaching her.

And as far as Neetu is concerned, I saw her film Traffic Signal and thought she acted really well. But most importantly Neetu is very versatile in terms of her looks. She can look a glamorous dame and a simple, down to earth house wife, both at the same time. That’s what her character Priya is all about in the movie.

 

 

4. Will the music of the film also be bilingual? How easy is it to work on music for a thriller? How was it working with Shankar-Ehsan-Loy?

Yes the music is also going to be bilingual. The composition is the same for both the versions but they have totally different lyrics.

There were no such challenges as such but the main difficulty we faced was selecting tracks which would appeal to both Hindi and Tamil audiences. And Shankar-Ehsan-Loy has done a wonderful job at composing and creating a perfect sound track for this bilingual film.

5. Why did you choose to mark your Hindi debut with a supernatural thriller than a commercial masala film? Do you think the era of formula films is over?

You can see these Hollywood super natural’s being dubbed in Indian languages and working out really well. Horror is not a niche genre and even my film is an out an out commercial film made for all, even kids would enjoy it as it’s not over the top scary.

As for Masala films, I believe that they are the face of the Bollywood. They can never go out of fashion and will always be one formula that never fails if made tastefully.

6. What are your favorite supernatural thrillers? Did any particular film/director inspire you while making 13B?

I love watching supernatural thrillers and watched all the classic ones. But 13B is an original creation and not been picked up or inspired by any Hollywood film.

7. How superstitious are you? Do you believe 13 is an unlucky/superstitious number as stated in your film's title?

Not really and 13 as a number in a way fascinates me and comes out as an interesting factor. I don’t find anything unlucky or scary about the number but I find it spooky. Since the film has started the number has somehow become a part of my everyday life and I pray it eventually proves to be lucky.

8. While shooting thrillers, many times the cast and crew experiences strange incidents, did you meet with the same?

 Noting that I remember of. We never really had any horror experiences but the funny part was that almost halfway through the film there were lot of news pieces and articles that me and my crew members started coming across which become quite regular. I wish I could have incorporated few of those interesting ones in my film.

9. What is your next project after 13B? What kind of a film are you looking forward to directing next? Any dream cast?

 There are seven to eight stories that I already have in my hand which are ready to be taken to the next step. I love experimenting so for me by the time I am 60 years, I would want to have made everything, some Masala flicks, couple of action packed films, few comedies and a handful of children films. Also I wish to work with all the good actors this country has to offer.

10. You have worked with Priyadarshan, who is known for his comedy but recently did a supernatural thriller himself, Bhool Bhulaiya. Did you exchange any notes? Did he share some tips?

Well Bhool Bhulaiya was a mixture of humor and supernatural somewhere which is a tough combination to achieve. And Priyadarshan succeeded beautifully to achieve that. Unfortunately I haven’t had a chance to see him in the past one and half years to discuss all this.

11. How was it collaborating with BIG Pictures? How much of the creative liberty you got working with them?

For a director it can not get any bigger than BIG Pictures. With all the finance meltdown happening worldwide, BIG was more than cooperative and there was all the freedom I needed to make my film the way I wanted it to be. They are a bunch of fun and creative people who I would feel honored to be associated with at any given time.

 

12. What are your hobbies apart from making good cinema?

I write all the time, stories, scripts, dialogues. Sometimes there is this just one perfect line that leads me to a story and that makes my day.

And one more thing; let me tell you if I would not be a director I would have been a chef. I a home trained cook but I relish cooking and I do that in my free time for my family.