She’s excited and nervous at the same time as she talks about her second directorial venture, Vai Raja Vai. Touted as a mainstream commercial film, it is a litmus test for Aishwarya Dhanush.
“I wanted a summer release as this is a family movie. Everyone will have something to take back from the film,” says Aishwarya, as she gets chatting about Vai Raja Vai. Encouraged by her husband actor-producer-singer Dhanush, Rajinikanth’s elder daughter took to direction in 2012 with 3, a romantic psychological thriller. Though the movie did not set the box office on fire, it fuelled Aishwarya’s passion for direction. She first became an assistant director and learnt the ropes over time.
Making a mainstream commercial film is a space very few Indian women directors have ventured into, but Aishwarya felt she needed to take that giant leap. She also acknowledges that the second film in a director’s career is important.
In comparison to 3, which starred well-known actors, Dhanush and Shruti Haasan, Vai Raja Vai features relative newcomer Gautham Karthik, Priya Anand and Sathish. “I really liked Priya and Sathish’s work in Ethir Neechal (Dhanush’s production) and told them that if I am doing a movie next, they’ll definitely be in it. I also liked Gautham in Mani Ratnam’s Kadal. There was something real and appealing about his face,” she says, adding working with fresh talent like Gautham is exciting because they don’t come with a certain perception.
“Priya is one of the few one-take artists around. She knows even technical aspects which experience has taught her. The movie has turned out to be multi-star cast and everyone has done justice to their roles,” says Aishwarya. Ask her if there’s glamour —a mandatory component in a film—in Vai Raja Vai and she says, “I think there’s as much glamour as there should be. When you have glamorous heroines in your film, you can’t show them not being glamorous.”
The journey of Vai Raja Vai over two years has been a big learning curve for the director as she worked on it without Dhanush by her side unlike her earlier film. “How I worked for 3 and Vai Raja Vai is that I don’t lock myself into a tight script. If the movie were to be shot in 60 days, then it makes sense to go in with a bound script. If you know that the movie will be a journey over a period of time, you get to know the characters and tweak the script accordingly. Though I feel a movie shouldn’t go beyond 60 days as there’s no end to developing it,” she explains.
Right now, Aishwarya is eager to show her cast and crew, and her dad, Rajinikanth, the film. Dhanush has seen some rushes and has been impressed with the work. Now she’s hoping that the audience loves Vai Raja Vai as much as they enjoyed making it. So has she started thinking about her next film? “No, not at all,” says Aishwarya, “I’m planning to take a break with my kids since it’s summer vacation for them. If I don’t take them anywhere, they’ll hold me up for it the whole year. My kids are at the right age to enjoy Disneyland, so I’m thinking of taking them to Disneyland in Paris.”