H Vinoth on Thunivu: 'Ajith is not playing Mankatha's Vinayak Mahadev'

H Vinoth looks calm and composed on the eve of the release of his much-awaited directorial biggie Thunivu, starring Tamil superstar Ajith Kumar. There is a lot of hype and excitement surrounding the film based on a bank heist, as it is set for a Pongal box-office showdown with Vijay’s Varisu.

Director H Vinoth has called Thunivu a “multi-genre commercial” film with songs and fights and tells The Federal that it will surely create a debate around money. Though he makes serious films with powerful dialogues and intriguing plots set in the world of crime, he is also a spiritual person and is all set to visit Sabarimala during the weekend. Here are a few excerpts from the interview:

Finally, a festival release for H Vinoth

“I feel special and happy for Thunivu because we tried our best to release Valimai for Diwali but due to various reasons, we couldn’t get a festival date. Finally, Thunivu is releasing on a festival weekend,” says H Vinoth.

Ajith wanted films that will appeal to family and women

Thunivu is H Vinoth’s third film with Ajith Kumar. The director, who had earlier made Sathuranga Vettai and Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru, did the 2019 Nerkonda Paarvai and the 2022 Valimai with the action star.

Talking about his journey with Ajith, the director says, “To be honest, the first meeting with Ajith sir wasn’t fruitful because he was basking in the success of Viswasam, whereas I had Amarakalam Ajith in mind. Director Siva’s films have earned family audiences for Ajith sir, and he did not want to dilute it. While I narrated a con thriller with heavy action episodes, he wanted something that would appeal to family and women. Later only, Ajith sir gave the opportunity to remake Pink.”

When Vinoth recommended Sudha Kongara

Vinoth tried to dissuade Ajith from making Nerkonda Paarvai pointing out that it may not work in Tamil. “I told Ajith, sir, that a Tamil film with a similar concept was already made and then suggested filmmakers like Sudha Kongara. But, sir told me that only men would understand the message handled in Pink and his manager Suresh Chandra also told me that Ajith sir wanted me to make the film because I’m a good writer. Once I understood Ajith sir’s ideology and how it is beyond business, I started believing in his vision.”

Core message of ‘Valimai’

Talking about Valimai, which earned mixed reviews, Vinoth says, “We wanted to discuss addiction, including digital addiction. These days youngsters are addicted to a lot of things, including alcohol, social media, etc. Though Tamil Nadu is an educated state, there are no big startups here. Only Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh are leading in that sector. While we wanted the audiences to understand this particular message in Valimai, the other subplots were criticised.” However, Vinoth says that slowly family audiences did come in and accepted the film.

Ajith’s script selection

As Vinoth has worked with Ajith in three films, The Federal asked him about how the actor chooses his scripts. “Ajith sir knows the script of Nerkonda Paarvai as he has seen the original Hindi version. For Valimai, I told him the basic concept of how addiction kills today’s youngsters, and he loved it and we developed the idea. For Thunivu, during the lockdown, I told him an idea that was suitable for a small film but he was excited. However, now, what we have made is suitable for the big screen. Once Ajith sir believes you, he will give you all his energy and ensure that the entire set stays positive till the release”.

Ajith is not playing Vinayak Mahadev

There is criticism making the rounds that Thunivu is majorly shot in one location. Vinoth points out, “Though the major portion of the film is happening in one location, there are many scenes in the film that were shot outside the sets. I can assure you that you won’t feel that the scenes were just shot in a single location. As a director, I’m also aware of the fact that audiences will feel bored if we show them the same location and characters repeatedly.”

The Thunivu team has released character posters of various artists but they are still maintaining the suspense about Ajith’s character name. There are rumours that he plays Vinayak Mahadev, his name in the blockbuster Mankatha. Vinoth denies this and says,”No way, he is not playing Vinayak Mahadev but there is an interesting angle to his character name in the film. Wait till tomorrow please.”

The trailer has also revealed that Ajith plays a negative character. “Well, yes, his character has different shades. I can bet you that no one can even mimic his mannerisms in the film. His body language is inimitable.”

Vinoth’s films are loaded with impressive action sequences. Talking about his penchant for setting up painstaking action sequences, the director says, “Only situation demands me to make such elaborate action sequences. I don’t want to simply make action scenes for the sake of drawing in the audiences.”

And, he gives the example of Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru, in which the cops are surrounded by 2,000 people and all of them called up their family once thinking that it will be their last day on earth. “But, the crowd actually wanted the cops to release the only educated guy in the village and they agreed to surrender the accused. Only such strong incidents help me to write action sequences in my films. Thunivu also has more such memorable action sequences, wait and watch,” says the director.

Before signing off, Vinoth says that he believes that Thunivu, which will release on January 11, will create a debate about money.