Director Manoj Beedha on Vanjagar Ulagam: Not a regular gangster film; it will will bring a new dimension to it

When the first promo of Manoj Beedha’s Vanjagar Ulagam, slated to release in cinemas on 7 September, was released a few months ago, it immediately caught the attention of audiences for its raw presentation. Armed with a degree from New York Film Academy, Beedha’s association with Kollywood began when he assisted director SP Jananthan on Arya and Vijay Sethupathi starrer Purampokku Engira Podhuvvudamai (2015). In this exclusive chat with Firstpost, the first-time director and producer talks about making a gangster film that he believes has broken a few clichés associated with the genre, how filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino, Selvaraghavan, Vetrimaaran and Mani Ratnam have shaped his filmmaking career and his battle with censorship. [caption id=“attachment_5134331” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Guru Somasundaram in Vanjagar Ulagam. Image via Facebook[/caption] Vanjagar Ulagam features Guru Somasundaram, of Aaranya Kaandam and Joker fame, in the titular role. Beedha said the film was supposed to be made as an independent project on a budget of less than Rs 3 crore. “We ended up spending more than what was planned. As we started shooting, we realised we shouldn’t compromise on the output, especially visuals, because I’m a visual filmmaker. If you have great visuals, half of the job to get the audiences invested in your film is already achieved. Visually, we believe we’ve made a film that will be spoken about a lot.” Talking about the film, which also stars Sibi, Chandini and Anisha Ambrose in key roles, Beedha said: “It’s essentially a thriller that revolves around the lives of a few characters. Guru will be seen playing a gangster and unlike many gangster films, this isn’t a story of evolution of a gangster. This is the story of a gangster’s inner conflict and the circumstances that shape his career and decisions in life. It’s not a regular tale of gangsters. I believe our film will bring a new dimension in gangster cinema.” Apart from Guru Somasundaram, Vanjagar Ulagam features mostly newcomers and lesser known actors. Asked if he considers it a gamble to make a film that completely rests on the shoulders of Guru, who is no star and doesn’t really have a following, Beedha said: “It’s a calculated risk and I’m ready to face the consequences. Even though Guru plays the titular character, he has lesser screen space than other actors because each character is very important from the story’s perspective. Guru will stun audiences in the scenes he appears on screen. A lot of people know that he’s very shy off-screen, but post the release of Vanjagar Ulagam, most of them will be stunned by his performance. He’s phenomenal in the film.” [caption id=“attachment_5134311” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Anisha Ambrose in a still from Vanjagar Ulagam. Image via Facebook[/caption] The film is finally releasing after being postponed a couple of times. Despite being cleared with A certificate, it’s being released with muted dialogues. “It’s been a challenge to get the film out. We had to postpone our release twice because we didn’t get a suitable date. We were supposed to come on 31 August but the makers of Imaikka Nodigal suddenly decided to come a day earlier and they got the major chunk of screens. Therefore, we were forced to push by release by another week. I wish the release system gets streamlined and preferences are given for smaller films as well.” Talking about the issues he faced with censorship, he said: “When I was given A certificate, I embraced it and I had no issues with the certification. But then they asked me to mute the dialogues even after being given A certificate. I find it silly, because if I release it with muted dialogues I fear the audiences will disconnect with the film. When I’m given A certificate, I should have the freedom to show whatever I want on screen because it’s anyways for audiences above 18 years. At one point, I was ready to accept the cuts and mutes for U/A certificate but the cuts they suggested took away the whole essence of making a gangster film. Hence, I settled for A with few muted dialogues.”