Director Mithran on Irumbu Thirai: My film is a representation of how our social system works

PS Mithran is quite upbeat about his debut directorial Irumbu Thirai, which will hit screens this week along with Arvind Swami’s Bhaskar Oru Rascal, Arulnithi’s Iravukku Aayiram Kangal, and Keerthy Suresh’s Nadigaiyar Thilagam (Mahanati). The project is produced by Vishal Film Factory and stars Vishal and Samantha Ruth Prabhu as leads and action king Arjun as the villain. Talking about the film in an exclusive interview to Firstpost, Mithran said, “Irumbu Thirai talks about the other side of digital India. It is not a straight social issue film; it’s a representation of how our social system works. There will be no explicit scenes like the press meet scene in Kaththi where the issues are spotted, and facts are slammed. Instead, the problems are connected with the lives of the characters in the story.” Delving deep into the film’s storyline, Mithran revealed, “The film is centred on information theft which most of us are not entirely aware of. Every mobile holder receives numerous calls and messages from unknown services and people. Have we ever given a thought about how these services got hold of our contacts in the first place? Believe it or not, your mobile number is at least known to thirty lakh people. How do they even get it? That’s what we have tried to explore in the film.” Mithran said Vishal initially wanted to play the villain role in the film after listening to the narration for the first time. “But, I told him that it would be apt for Arjun sir. Then he said he would play the hero. When the film was in conception stage, I had no hero or heroine in my mind, but I wanted Arjun sir to play the antagonist because the role demanded a person with a super powerful and sophisticated image. His character is an extremely sophisticated person, who hates murders (laughs).” [caption id=“attachment_4462751” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Mithran, Vishal, and Samantha[/caption] Mithran was in for a surprise when Arjun said he had given up on villain roles during the narration. “When I went to meet him for the narration, he told he is not ready to play villain roles even before I started to narrate the story. So we started the first schedule without finalising the antagonist. It was editor Ruben who later spoke to Arjun sir and convinced him to do this role,” he recalled. In recent promos, Samantha has thanked Mithran for giving her a ‘real character’ and portraying her in a dignified manner in the film. When asked about it, Mithran said, “I don’t want to make a film where the heroine falls in love with the hero, and they live happily ever after. Because in real life there’s no happily ever after. No one in real life falls head over heels for a girl who they see at a bus stop. In real life, love happens after a lot of communication and the person involved will not know the exact moment when the relationship turns to love. Samantha, in my film, is one such realistic female who adds sense to the man’s life. That’s how I wrote the character. Something has to happen with the man to fall in love with the woman; it just can’t be the beauty.” Samantha Ruth Prabhu plays the role of a psychologist in the film, which marks her first collaboration with Vishal. Talking about the lead pair’s chemistry in the film, Mithran said, “The truth is I can write love scenes with so much creativity, but I don’t know how to shoot them. I couldn’t figure out which lens to use or what angle to fix. So for the first fifteen days, I shot action sequences, drama, and other portions, and then only started the romance portions. So, I confessed to Vishal and Samantha about it, and they laughed it off. I would give them the scene and ask to develop and do it in their style. And their love portions have come out naturally.” Showering praise on Samantha’s ability as a performer, Mithran said, “Samantha is a wonderful actress. She has not gotten this kind of roles before. I am quite surprised by the amount of clarity she has while enacting a scene. Be it the nitty-gritty of the expressions or the significant emotions; she has done it with utmost perfection. If I ask her to tone down her reaction by twenty percent, she can do it without any question.” Mithran said Vishal’s confidence in the script helped him to execute a gripping thriller. “Initially, I was very nervous on the set. It was Vishal who trusted my ability and motivated me each day. The entire journey of Irumbu Thirai has been very memorable and enjoyable, thanks to Vishal. I had initially narrated this script to a lot of producers, who turned down the project. If not for Vishal, this film would have not have happened at all,” he said. Yuvan Shankar Raja has composed the music for the project. “I have no words to explain the amount of heart and soul Yuvan has put into this film. He has given a kickass background score. The score which you have heard in the teaser has been pumped up to another fifty percent in the movie,” said Mithran on a concluding note.