Quotes from Vetrimaaran

Characters, conflict and geography are things that must be considered while making movies from adaptations.

I wasn't happy the way I completed 'Asuran' or abandoned the film as it isn't complete. People are liking it and it's making money and I'm glad but I'm not happy with how I had to finish it.

AJ' is a very special movie to me. I have been watching Dinesh and Rajkumar from their initial days, and have witnessed their evolution. The film talks about the bond shared between a father and a son who wants to fulfil his father's dreams. It's a cross between a comedy of errors and a political satire.

When people told me that 'Polladhavan' was a remake of 'Bicycle Thieves,' I wanted to laugh because comparing 'Polladhavan' to 'Bicycle Thieves' is a disgrace to the latter.

It is much easier to do a film about something that the audience readily knows about - say, cricket. It is much more difficult to write a film based on golf.

Actually, after three years, I realised that the opening scenes of 'Polladhavan' were inspired by 'Lolita,' in which the lead character says, 'Why did I meet her? My life would have been different had I not met her.'

If you get the right cast, half your work is done.

Rajkumar was the winner of 'Naalaya Iyakkunar Season 2,' and I was impressed with his short film. He joined me as an assistant when I started the pre-production work for 'Vada Chennai.'

The best part about an actor is that they should firstly be receptive and secondly be expressive.

If a film can't excite me and teach me something about life, then it is not worth pursuing.

In Toronto, the film festival is like a carnival... entire families come to it.

The first 40-50 pages of 'Veekai' is what made it film-friendly. I realised the subject would be relevant even after 50 years.

The Hindi remake rights for 'Visaranai' have been bought by director Priyadarshan.

Kaaka Muttai' is the expression of an insider. It is a film about globalisation and its effects.

I've always said that the more ethnic you become, the more international your film becomes.

Slum children eat crow's eggs for nutrition yet nobody respects this common bird. It's the exotic birds which fascinate all.

Smaller films that have a great run at the festivals usually result in the audience promoting the film on social media and so on.

Anybody with a good smart phone can shoot and edit a film. Distributing it is the hard part.

The younger generation of filmmakers is concerned about our roots, rather than making films with characters plucked out of the cloud or some English DVD. Actually since 2000, Tamil cinema is going through some positive changes.

My films are a reflection of the society I live in, what I see and observe.

My mentor is Balu Mahendra.

And I don't want people to think that I make movies based on other films.

For me, in any story that I take, the antagonist is more interesting and multi-dimensional.

I do films for the common man and identify myself one among them.