Face 2 Face

John Edathattil (credited, sometimes, as Sab John) is the screenwriter of Guna (1991). In this video, he talks about writing a script based on the Sri Lankan civil war for Kamal Haasan, and then writing Guna when that project was dropped. He speaks about writing through a personal crisis, and the various aspects of the character of Guna (the religious nature, the 'thaali', his hatred for his face). He speaks of how Kamal improved the "Pentathol" scene with his acting, and also his inputs to the screenplay. He speaks of how Ilayaraja heightened the screenplay with his magnificent score (and that "letter song"). He speaks of how visuals (like the cave) enhance a screenplay, how to make a 'unique' script more mainstream, and whether screenwriting can be taught. He names recent films he liked for their screenplay (Pizza, Soodhu Kavvum, Maanagaram, Vikram Vedha, Dhuruvangal Padhinaaru), and says how much he was affected by Balaji Shaktivel's Kadhal.

John Edathattil (credited, sometimes, as Sab John) is the screenwriter of Guna (1991). In this video, he talks about writing a script based on the Sri Lankan civil war for Kamal Haasan, and then writing Guna when that project was dropped. He speaks about writing through a personal crisis, and the various aspects of the character of Guna (the religious nature, the 'thaali', his hatred for his face). He speaks of how Kamal improved the "Pentathol" scene with his acting, and also his inputs to the screenplay. He speaks of how Ilayaraja heightened the screenplay with his magnificent score (and that "letter song"). He speaks of how visuals (like the cave) enhance a screenplay, how to make a 'unique' script more mainstream, and whether screenwriting can be taught. He names recent films he liked for their screenplay (Pizza, Soodhu Kavvum, Maanagaram, Vikram Vedha, Dhuruvangal Padhinaaru), and says how much he was affected by Balaji Shaktivel's Kadhal.

Siddharth talks about his 'pure' horror trilingual Aval / Gruham / The House Next Door (directed by Milind Rau), and how horror as a genre hasn't been respected in India. He talks about completing 15 years as an actor, his fondness for the films that don't work at the box office (Striker, Kaaviya Thalaivan), how an actor is just a commodity, about the genesis of the name of his production house ("Etaki Entertainment"), how we celebrate mediocrity, and about working with directors like Mani Ratnam, Shankar, Prabhu Deva, Rakeysh Mehra, Balaji Mohan, Deepa Mehta, David Dhawan, Sundar C, Karthik Subbaraj, Vasanthabalan and Milind Rau.

Siddharth talks about his 'pure' horror trilingual Aval / Gruham / The House Next Door (directed by Milind Rau), and how horror as a genre hasn't been respected in India. He talks about completing 15 years as an actor, his fondness for the films that don't work at the box office (Striker, Kaaviya Thalaivan), how an actor is just a commodity, about the genesis of the name of his production house ("Etaki Entertainment"), how we celebrate mediocrity, and about working with directors like Mani Ratnam, Shankar, Prabhu Deva, Rakeysh Mehra, Balaji Mohan, Deepa Mehta, David Dhawan, Sundar C, Karthik Subbaraj, Vasanthabalan and Milind Rau.

Kamal Haasan talks about Vishwaroopam 2, and why the action genre doesn't form a big part of his over 200 films, other than the odd Vikram, Kurudhipunal, Thoonga Vanam, Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu, Aalavandhan and now the Vishwaroopam films. He speaks about being a star and actor (vis a vis someone like Naseeruddin Shah). Her speaks of Waheeda Rahman's role in Vishwaroopam 2. He speaks about the many career transitions in his life, and how Bigg Boss has taken him back to the masses, the way Sakalakalavallan did. He speaks about criticism, and why he entered politics, about his future films like Indian 2.

Kamal Haasan talks about Vishwaroopam 2, and why the action genre doesn't form a big part of his over 200 films, other than the odd Vikram, Kurudhipunal, Thoonga Vanam, Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu, Aalavandhan and now the Vishwaroopam films. He speaks about being a star and actor (vis a vis someone like Naseeruddin Shah). Her speaks of Waheeda Rahman's role in Vishwaroopam 2. He speaks about the many career transitions in his life, and how Bigg Boss has taken him back to the masses, the way Sakalakalavallan did. He speaks about criticism, and why he entered politics, about his future films like Indian 2.

Subramaniyapuram turns ten this July. Sasikumar, currently starring in Asuravadham, talks about the success of the film, the failure of Easan (maybe he should have made it later, he wonders), what he got from assisting Bala and Ameer. He names his favourite films by Bharathiraja, Balachander, Balu Mahendra, Mahendran, Bala and Ameer, and talks about why these films are special.  He says his not returning to direction is not because of the failure of Easan, but due to his acting commitments. He talks about stardom being a kind of prison, and about taking instructions from other filmmakers. And he talks about big, Baahubali-like historical project, written with Su Venkatesan, which he narrated to Suriya and Vijay.

Subramaniyapuram turns ten this July. Sasikumar, currently starring in Asuravadham, talks about the success of the film, the failure of Easan (maybe he should have made it later, he wonders), what he got from assisting Bala and Ameer. He names his favourite films by Bharathiraja, Balachander, Balu Mahendra, Mahendran, Bala and Ameer, and talks about why these films are special.  He says his not returning to direction is not because of the failure of Easan, but due to his acting commitments. He talks about stardom being a kind of prison, and about taking instructions from other filmmakers. And he talks about big, Baahubali-like historical project, written with Su Venkatesan, which he narrated to Suriya and Vijay.

Milind Rau, the director of Aval, Gruham, The House Next Door talks about the craft involved in directing a horror film. How he alternated between letting the various departments do their own thing and micro-managing it all. He explains what he did in the areas of colour, sound design, background score, cinematography and editing -- and how these (and other departments) came together in the pre-interval exorcism sequence. (He talks about this scene in detail.) He tells how he tried to second-guess the viewer in terms of the scares. And about the classic horror films (The Exorcist, The Omen, Ringu) he used as a reference point, and also paid homage to.

Milind Rau, the director of Aval, Gruham, The House Next Door talks about the craft involved in directing a horror film. How he alternated between letting the various departments do their own thing and micro-managing it all. He explains what he did in the areas of colour, sound design, background score, cinematography and editing -- and how these (and other departments) came together in the pre-interval exorcism sequence. (He talks about this scene in detail.) He tells how he tried to second-guess the viewer in terms of the scares. And about the classic horror films (The Exorcist, The Omen, Ringu) he used as a reference point, and also paid homage to.