Ashok Selvan: Thegidi second part didn’t happen for many reasons, but I hope Por Thozhil 2 works out

Excerpts from the interview:

What’s with you and crime thrillers? Thegidi was a milestone in your career, and now Por Thozhil…

(Laughs) I am a fan of thrillers. I am a fan of everything except horror films, except Hereditary. I am not a fan of jump scares and stuff like that. I always felt that those are contrived. I like something that moves me. Even if you take Por Thozhil, it’s a thriller only, but it has a takeaway. My priority is to strike a chord with the audience somehow. I liked the script and the characters, but my favourite is the touch at the end. We always talk about the problems but not the solutions. We deal with the killer’s arc, and rarely do we deal with what we can do as people to fix the problem.

Oh My Kadavule was directed by one of your friends, and Por Thozhil director Vignesh Raja is also your friend… you seem to have a lot of useful friends…

(Laughs) This is a group that sat down and kept talking about movies at one point. Even I was into making films back in my college days. We were into short films. However, just because we are friends, no one cuts slack for me. A good thing is we can discuss anything and everything about the film. There’s no need to break the ice. I can say anything to the director without worrying about how he will take it.

All short filmmakers aspire to be a director. Do you still do?

I did as well. There’s a lot of pleasure in being a director. When you finally make a short film and the CD is rendered there’s so much happiness. As an actor, you are just part of the film, but as a director, you own the film. But when my friends wanted actors, I started doing it. Later, I did Therukoothu (street plays), and I started liking it. Initially, when I came into the industry, I had a blind confidence that I can do anything. Now, seeing how my directors are struggling and putting in so much effort, I realised that this is tough. So, I don’t know about direction dreams now.

Your choice of script is not always about how big the role is. You did Sila Samayangalil, which had more actors. Even in Por Thozhil, you play second fiddle to Sarathkumar. What’s the play here?

A well-known producer, who I don’t want to name, asked me, ‘How did you choose this film?’ He said, “You are a mainstream hero and I wonder why you did this role. But I am glad you did it.” Then only it struck me that I should be thinking about all this. I never think along those lines. I liked my character and that’s all I saw in it. Even when I did Sila Samayangalil, I was excited to work with Priyadarshan sir and Prakash Raj sir. After Oh My Kadavule, a blockbuster hit for me after a while, I did a film called Silanerangalil Silamanithargal, which had multiple characters. Even the director of the film told me not to do it. I was moved by the script and wanted to be part of it. It didn’t do well commercially, but I am proud of it. So, I don’t think along those lines… about my image and stuff. Maybe, I should… going forward.

Is it possible to sustain without thinking along those lines… to be not part of the rat race and still make it in the industry?

Only time will tell. I will tell you in ten years. Here we are so used to looking at someone in terms of his ‘position’. Then we have the two-hero competition. Fans are always talking about the box office, while they have to be talking about the quality of the film. I mean are you a producer or distributor to discuss numbers (laughs). I don’t know. I am not trying to be part of the race. I am going my way.

You are an outsider who made it without support. Is it possible for someone like you to make it in the industry just with determination and effort?

YES. I can answer that now… I don’t need ten years for answering this question. This industry has space for someone like me. All you have to do is keep proving. Certain people didn’t want my films to do well, but something like Oh My Kadavule and Por Thozhil cannot be stopped.

Tell us about the Por Thozhil sequel.

The platform is set for a sequel. We can take it forward in many ways. There are numerous possibilities. It is up to Vignesh now to do it. Such a question happened to Thegidi. People kept asking when will we make a second part. For some reason, we couldn’t do it. Now, Por Thozhil has made people ask the same thing.

Why didn’t Thegidi 2 happen?

See, for a film to happen everyone involved in it should be on the same page. One person cannot do much. So, yes, things didn’t come together for Thegidi 2. Hope it happens with Por Thozhil.