National award winning actor-director duo, Dhanush and Vetri Maaran, go back a long way. They worked together on Maaran's 2007 directorial debut Polladhavan and Aadukalam, their second collaboration, won six National awards this year.
But the director has said no to a hat-trick. The 35-year-old filmmaker says that his next offering, still in the scripting stage, will not star Dhanush, the son-in-law of superstar Rajinikanth. "I believe in change. If you keep on working with the same people it gets boring for both parties. We need to keep changing. I am not working with Dhanush in my next movie," Maraan said.
Both his films have found success at the box office and the director frankly says that he makes movies to make money, not to gather awards. "I make films to recover the cost, to make money and not to get awards. Awards are always welcome but acceptance by the audience is more important," he said.
The film's haul at the 58th National awards surprised the director who says that awards should not be a yardstick to judge a movie. "I was surprised and was not ready to accept it. My friend called me up and said 'Its your day' which I couldn't quite understand. I thought we won the best regional film award. Awards are always in tandem with the jury. There are great films that go unnoticed at times and so awards should not be a yardstick to judge films. I was a little sad that my cinematograper R Velraj didnt get an award but then I respect the decision of the jury," added Maaran, who has earlier assisted noted filmmakers like Balu Mahendra and Kathir.
The director who entered filmdom after a stint in TV, said that Aadukalam, which takes a look at the mysterious world of rooster fighting, is not an art house film and was made keeping the mainstream Tamil audience in mind. "My film was meant for a mainstream Tamil audience. It is not an art film. In the past we have seen that National Awards are usually given to art house films. I think that the ethnic feel of the film impressed the jury. Preserving the identity is very important in any culture and that has always been my aim," said the filmmaker.
Over the years Bollywood remakes of Tamil films have become blockbusters and Maraan says that it is a positive trend. "Bollywood remaking Tamil movies is fine as long as they are well made. I dont mind if Aadukalam is remade in Hindi but it should be as good as the original if not better. "I am not sure about the lead actor but I would like either Naseeruddin Shah or Nana Patekar to play the role of the mentor Pettaikaran. It is a very intense character and who better than these veteran actors to essay the role," he said.
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