When you speak to filmmaker Hari, you know what he wants and how clear he is about it. Maybe, that’s why most of his films have done quite well at the box-office. “Can you slow down a bit; so that I’ll understand what you are trying to ask,” he begins the conversation.
“S-III isn’t like a regular cop story. The emphasis is on entertaining the audience with a new narrative style. Personally, I would like to see a new genre cinema every Friday. This is one such movie. It keeps the audience guessing about the next scene. The screenplay goes beyond their anticipation at the same time sustaining their interest,” he tells us.
He claims that for the first time in India, the same story line has been continued in the third sequel with the same set of artistes. Quiz him if Suriya plays a married man; he smiles, “There’s a surprise element in it, so I can’t reveal anything more.”
He reasons out how the franchise films become successful only if big names are involved. “We didn’t pursue the original S-III script that I had on mind. Suriya and I discussed that we’ll do it after five years. Since the audience was excited, I developed a new storyline and penned the whole script,” he assures. “S-III won’t be a standalone venture, but has a connection with the first two parts. The sequels which were released of late weren’t successful because the storylines and actors were different.”
Does he have some sort of fascination for sequels and cop stories? He grins, “When I made Saamy with Vikram, at the end, we had a title card that read: ‘Saamyin vettai thodarum’. Sequels have always interested me because of the scope it gives me as far as storytelling and writing are concerned. I develop a bond with the characters I create, which motivates me to do sequels. S-III will be the most expensive film that I have made so far. As a team, we took extra steps to make sure that the plot and characters are evolved and improvised.”
Hari’s growth as a director from an assistant director has been phenomenal. Ask him about it, and he credits his team of ‘boys’. “Whenever I start a project, I brainstorm with my assistant directors. To me, a script is never complete. I work on it constantly. Many times, while shooting I have made changes, and till the last date of the release, I think about how it can be improvised,” he says.
He refers to Suriya as a proven actor. “He has this fire in him and has done a lot of hard work for the character he plays in S-III. As it’s a cop story, we verified many things from my inspector-friend. He also plays a small role in the film,” he elaborates.
Stating that, it usually takes 6-8 months for him to complete a script, S-III took a year. “Suriya was particular that his character is sophisticated. It’s different from the earlier parts in a number of ways. Moreover, cop stories interest the audience. Since the level of interaction is limited between them and police officials, everyone looks forward to seeing such stories on the screen. Fast-paced action-packed films are my strength,” he observes.
So far, Hari has never had second thoughts about investing his time on cop stories or sequels. “I am a producer’s director, and I make him happy. I am comfortable doing films with any hero, and everybody gets along with me well. My goal is to make commercially-viable projects without compromising on my creativity. I am not a real creator, and I know it. My content is inspired by films made by Shankar, Mani Ratnam, Bala and KS Ravikumar,” he chuckles.