‘Laththi’ will be our tribute to all constables: Vishal

Apart from being his most expensive film, Vishal also feels Laththi is his most challenging one too.
A still from the film ‘Laththi’ starring Vishal. (Photo | YouTube screengrab)
A still from the film ‘Laththi’ starring Vishal. (Photo | YouTube screengrab)

A lot is happening in Vishal’s life. Apart from being a busy actor, he heads a production house; he is turning a director soon; he is harbouring political ambitions, and on top of it all, he is waging a long-standing battle against his marriage rumours. Fending off the usual questions, and quite a few curveballs ahead of the release of his costliest film to date, Laththi, which is also his first pan-Indian project, Vishal is a picture of calm and composure. “In my 18-year-long career, I’ve done many action films but nothing of this scale, and I know Laththi is a film that I’ll always be proud of,” he says.

Apart from being his most expensive film, Vishal also feels Laththi is his most challenging one too. “The biggest challenge of them all was playing a police constable’s role. We have seen several cop stories in our cinema, but most of them have been about high-ranking officials. I have done glamorous, six-pack-flaunting cop roles myself. But Laththi’s Muruganandham is nothing like them. He represents a major section of the police machinery whose struggles haven’t been documented properly on screen yet,” says an empathetic Vishal who prepared for the role by closely observing the hardships of constables.

“If you ask me, wearing that uniform itself is exhausting. I used to get irritated after just an hour of shooting. Imagine their situation where they have to toil under the sun all day. During my interactions with constables, what I noticed is that most of them are deprived of a personal life. They are always expected to be on their toes. Most of them sleep for just three-four hours. We generally make fun of constables and their paunches, but the truth is, most of them are naturally fit and trim. However, their irregular sleeping and untimely food habits worsen their physique. These people sacrifice their sleep to ensure we sleep safely,” he shares.

Vishal hopes Laththi will be a fitting tribute to all the constables, and the team is taking extra efforts to screen the film for these policemen and their families. “We’re trying our best to organise special screenings across Tamil Nadu. The Commissioner of Salem has promised that he will make the arrangements in his jurisdiction. Similarly, we’re using our contacts to ensure the film reaches all policemen in the state.”

Interestingly, Vishal wasn’t the first choice for the project, which marks the directorial debut of A Vinoth Kumar. “He initially wanted to cast Samuthirakani as the lead. I’m not sure if it could have been made on a similar scale, but it would have definitely been a good film. Probably, the title then would have been ‘Muruganandham’ or something,” laughs Vishal as he remembers how laidback he was during the first narration. “Vinoth was hesitant to say my character has a seven-year-old son. But I was least bothered about it and asked him to continue the narration. For a large part of the first half, I was relaxed, but before I knew it, I was on the edge of my seat. Such is the nature of the screenplay. The last 45 minutes are thoroughly gripping.”

The actor goes on to eulogise stunt choreographer Peter Hein’s efforts in the film. “It’s my first film with Peter Hein and I was blown away by his dedication. Every time I pulled off something challenging, Peter Hein master would jump around in excitement saying, ‘My Rambo is here!’. It’s that smile on his face that kept pushing me despite all the injuries.”

‘Circumstances forced me to make my directorial debut’

To ensure such efforts don’t go in vain, the makers are releasing Laththi in multiple languages with Vishal himself dubbing for the film in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi. But the actor is still wary of the pan-Indian trend as he believes it’s a risky path to tread on.

“You can’t mount all your films on a pan-Indian level. It all depends on the freshness of the content and how well the audience can connect to it. The massive success of Kantara is a telling example. People were fascinated by its world because most of them were not aware of a festival like Kambala or rituals like Bhootakola. That’s what worked in the film’s favour,” says Vishal, who shares that he has a firm understanding of the changing trends in cinema. “Recently, when this ‘Boycott Bollywood’ thing was trending, I was on a pilgrimage trip to Kasi. During my interaction with a few North Indians, they said, ‘We love the way you show our culture in South cinema. We don’t get anything of that sort that we can show to our kids.’ So what I understood is, people are more interested in seeing rooted, rustic tales. Mere glossiness doesn’t work anymore.”

Vishal admits that his script selection of late has been influenced by such external factors. After Laththi, he has Adhik Ravichandran’s Mark Antony and a film with Karthik Subbaraj’s Stone Bench Productions coming up.

Mark Antony is again a big-scale film. I will be appearing in multiple roles in the film, but I’m sure you won’t be able to spot Vishal in any of them. The best part about the film is working with SJ Suryah, who is like a brother to me. It is a blessing to be the first audience for his explosive performance. The fire that I first saw in his eyes 25 years back is still raging.”

Besides his acting commitments, Vishal is also gearing up to debut as a filmmaker with Thupparivalan 2. “I never thought I would make my directorial debut so soon, but circumstances have forced me to. It’s a litmus test where I’ve to prove myself both as an actor and a director.” The film was originally supposed to be helmed by Mysskin, but the director opted out at the halfway stage which triggered an ugly spat between the two. Vishal, who is also producing Thupparivalan 2, is still miffed with the ‘betrayal’ of Mysskin. “He’s a very good filmmaker and I’m a fan of his works. But I can never forgive him as a producer. I’ll always remember that day when he left me stranded on the streets of London.”

Apart from Thupparivalan 2, Vishal is also prepping for his ‘pet project’. “It’s my dream directorial and I’ve completed the script works. It has seven stray dogs, a cat, and a horse. By February, we’re planning to adopt these animals from Blue Cross and start training them.” When asked about his much-publicised wish to direct Vijay, he says, “I’ve been a Vijay rasigan from his Rasigan days. During the lockdown time, I tried pitching a story but I couldn’t reach him. I still have a few ideas ready and wish to present them in a certain way. I hope I get that opportunity sometime in the future.”

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