Balaji Mohan and his love for films

When Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi released in the year 2012, director Balaji Mohan was lauded for making a sweet and cute rom-com that brought out the tense but negligible situations couple go through. He then went on to direct Vaayai Moodi Pesavum and Mari. While the former revolved around the unique concept of dumb flu, the latter showcased the quirky side of a gangster. Despite criticism, Maari went on to do wonders at the box-office. As Mari 2 is gearing up to release soon, we caught up with director Balaji Mohan to speak about working with Dhanush again, and how his love for movies began.

How did you decide to become a director?

As a child, I used to watch films of Rajinikanth and Jackie Chan. But didn’t think I would become a director. In fact, I initially wanted to be an actor. Later, when I watched films like Ayutha Ezhuthu, Kadhal Konden, and Kaakha Kaakha, I decided that direction is my calling. In Kadhal Konden Dhanush was a face the Tamil audience wasn’t familiar with. In spite of it, the film still won the attention of the people because of the pure filmmaking and the acting.

From Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi to Maari 2 how has your journey been?

I’ve been able to do different kinds of films and I am happy about that. My films Maari and Maari 2 are commercial, which will have a wider reach. I am also glad that people appreciate and remember me for my first two films. I don’t want to be listed as a director who can make films in just one genre, I want to experiment. I might decide to make a cop-thriller film in the future

Would we see you direct a woman-centric film in the future?

I write a lot, so I have a pile of concepts. Even in some of these scripts, women have strong roles. A lot of women-centric films are happening now, I can see the change. If you see, even in my web series ‘As I’m Suffering from Kadhal’ the women have solid characters. Women to enjoy watching these characters on screen, otherwise, it’s very boring to see women stereotyped in every film.

How do you take criticism?

As long as the criticism is fair then it works. I try to keep eyes open for good points and good feedback. Only then a creator can know the positive and negative points of his crafts.

How do you conceptualize new ideas? What’s that one trick that helps you decide that this is final.

Usually, an Idea sparks and excites you, and then the script happens. Everything interesting around me inspires me, these things help me to write a script.