Though Puriyaatha Puthir (earlier titled Mellisai) is releasing after a long wait, its director Ranjit Jeyakodi isn’t too frustrated. Instead, he’s just relieved that the Vijay Sethupathi-starrer is hitting screens, as we find out in a chat. Excerpts:
What kept you going all these years when your film was ready but couldn’t find a release?
That’s the nature of the cinema business. A lot of money is involved and some problems are part and parcel of the game. Through this phase, I was always positive about the release of the film. Vijay Sethupathi never made me feel lonely or frustrated.
Tell us about life before Puriyaatha Puthirand how cinema came into your life.
I had assisted director Ram in Kattradhu Thamizh and worked in the pre-production of Thanga Meengal. When I narrated my script to Vijay Sethupathi, he was busy Pizza and Soodhu Kavvum. He liked it a lot but was quite busy then. I somehow got lucky as he accommodated my film.
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People say it’s a psycho thriller and that Vijay Sethupathi has a split personality. All I can say now is that it’s a love story with elements of a thriller and mystery.The biggest takeaway from this project is my continuing friendship with him; he has been a big moral support.
Technicians like DOP Dinesh Krishnan and composer Sam CS add a lot of weight to your film. How do you see their skill set?
Dinesh has extraordinary screen knowledge; his framing sense is very clear. In the music department, Sam kept giving me options. He gave me all the BGM themes before I shot the scenes, a process he followed for Vikram Vedha too.