Perspective. Every piece of art has a certain intent behind its inception. But does every consumer of the art look at it the same way? Does every art reach its audience in the way it was intended to? Debut director Abbas A Rahmath’s Fight Club hit the screens last Friday, and the filmmaker learnt about this chasm between intent and interpretation in a rather strong way. “There is a reason why Fight Club isn’t set in a particular geographic location. I used various locations in the film to not give a particular label to any area. I didn’t want to generalise a location or a particular set of people,” clarifies Abbas, adding, “It is the criticisms that I have vilified North Chennai that hurt the most. But I should have been more clear about what I did, and I do apologise for it.”
Starring Uriyadi-fame Vijay Kumar in the lead role, Fight Club spoke about the consequences of drug menace in our society, and how the vulnerable are preyed upon by manipulative powers. “Unlike what many believe, we didn’t get censored ‘A’ for the violence in Fight Club but for the drug menace, we showcased in the film. The censors understood why we had to show what we did because there was an all-important message in the end,” says Abbas, who wrote the first draft of Fight Club way back in 2014-15.
Incidentally, it was supposed to be more about football, and how Vijay’s character rehabilitates other vulnerable kids who go down the path of crime. “We couldn’t start the film then, and in the meantime, films like Bigil was released with similar themes. So, we had to rework the script accordingly,” says Abbas, who is well aware of the various opinions that compare the themes of Fight Club with films like Vada Chennai. “Honestly, what can be done? I can’t change what others have made, and keep on altering my premise, right?”
While Fight Club faced its share of positive and negative feedback, one avenue that it received unanimous praise for is its editing style. “I wanted the film to look and be cut in a certain way right in the writing stage. Vijay sir did something similar with Uriyadi, and I wanted to use a similar working style in Fight Club too,” shares Abbas, who credits his editor Kripakaran P for understanding his vision, and even making it better at times.
Another highlight of the film is the battery of supporting actors who are more than just characters fleeting in and out of one of the film’s innumerable fights. Even the peripheral characters have a certain need for them to exist in this world, and in another film, they could even be the leads. “Every character in Fight Club is driven by some sort of ambition. For some, it might be sports, and for others, it might be music. I wanted to showcase how the opportunities for these people are either taken away or kept away from their grasp. They are forced to fight for survival. In fact, I see Fight Club as a story of many survivors who somehow manage to find a way to continue living in this big, bad world.”
Abbas comes across as someone who doesn’t beat around the bush, and this facet came through when questioned about the romantic portions of the film. “I agree to all the criticisms,” says the filmmaker with a laugh, adding, “We did shoot a lot more scenes to underline the depth of love between the lead characters. But, we had to showcase more scenes to establish the warring factions in Fight Club. Because most of the actors were newcomers, we had to sacrifice romance to cement this rivalry.”
Abbas reveals that it was a conscious decision to fill Fight Club with either rank newcomers or talented actors who have only been seen in a few films.
“In fact, for the role of Joseph, one of the antagonists played by Avinash Raghudevan, we had someone like Soubin Shahir in mind. But due to scheduling issues, we roped in Avinash, and he fit the bill perfectly. Also, he travelled with us throughout the three years of filming and waiting. I’m not sure if another actor could have given this much time for us.
Members of the directorial team doubled up as actors, and of course, we had Vijay sir who trusted us. Fight Club is a result of such resilience and trust,” shares Abbas, who vehemently praises his team. “A noted composer like Govind Vasantha sir was okay with a debut filmmaker like me saying no to his tunes. For someone starting out, the team must be right, and I believe working with everyone, especially producer Aditya sir and his Reel Good Films banner, I hit the jackpot.”
After breaking the first rule of Fight Club, the David Fincher edition, for an extended period of time, Abbas signed off by talking about the reason behind the title. “Just business,” says a pragmatic Abbas, adding, “It did fit the larger scheme of things, but yeah, there is the obvious recall value. After all, we do what we can to stay a step ahead right? Like my Fight Club, isn’t cinema too a game of survival?”