If It Were Just Up to Me, Por Thozhil's Ending Would’ve Been Different: Director Vignesh Raja

Vignesh Raja’s debut directorial Por Thozhil is unique in more ways than one, and its layered writing shines through Ashok Selvan’s Prakash, a timid police officer trying to nab a serial killer. In his first case, senior officer Loganathan (Sarathkumar) tells him that they are going to Trichy to investigate a couple of murders. Prakash immediately and innocently asks, “Yaar sir konnadhu (Who killed them?)” — a scene for which the theatre erupted with claps and laughs. “He is one such character, enna nerathula enna pesanum nu theriyaadhu (he doesn’t know when and what to speak). We all do that, he is like someone who sits on the back bench and cracks jokes. We wanted the audience to laugh as much as possible at Ashok Selvan. So, as his character evolves, you begin rooting for him, ” says Por Thozhil Director Vignesh Raja, who co-wrote the script with Alfred Prakash. 

Twists and surprises are important for any film, but it becomes more crucial for thrillers. After a successful opening in Tamil Nadu, Por Thozhil is all set to be released in six other territories this Friday, so Vignesh requests us to keep this conversation spoiler-free. This also means the identity of the actor who plays the antagonist is going to be kept under wraps just a little longer. “We didn’t reveal the actor’s name even in the opening credits. Luckily, even after the film’s release, most media houses and audiences haven’t revealed it. Romba aachariyama iruku (it is very surprising),” the director says elatedly. 

What was the inspiration behind Ashok Selvan’s vulnerable cop? Was the messaging towards the end of the film actually necessary? Is there a sequel on cards? Vignesh Raja has some answers.

Edited Excerpts Below:

How thrilling it is to keep your antagonist’s identity a secret?

Thrilling illa, headache (It is not thrilling, it is a headache). Be it during the interviews, press shows or otherwise, my heartbeat kept racing. 

That is thrilling, right?

Maybe (laughs). When you sit in the safety of the theatres and watch such scenes unfold, it is thrilling. But when you go through it on a personal level, it is not. But it gives an X factor. When people have no clue about whom it is going to be, the revelation takes them in by surprise, and there is a collective gasp. That’s something we want to protect; to give the audience that experience. 

All said and done, somewhere down the line I genuinely feel the audiences have begun owning the film. They might have read a review before going to watch the film. In case, someone had spoiled it for them, they might have also done the same. But if someone protected their watching experience, I think they might also be trying to do the same for others. 

Be it the two different investigative methods of Ashok Selvan and Sarathkumar or the vulnerable depiction of a police officer, there are a lot of unique attributes in Por Thozhil. What was the spark for such ideas?

It all started with Ashok Selvan’s character. Alfred and I used to talk a lot about this. Personally, whenever I hear the walkie-talkie crackle, I get scared. It’s not like I’m a criminal, but that sound jolts me. We began thinking about how it would be if one such person became a police officer — that’s where the character stemmed from. He is scared but also covers it up with something, which is by using brilliant grades and academics. We needed another character who behaved the exact opposite way. 

Just like how hero-heroine chemistry is important in a romcom, the chemistry between the leads is important in a buddy-cop film. We always look at chemistry from a romantic angle, but when you have dual protagonists, it is very crucial. For me, Kuruthipunal (1995) is a very important reference point. Of course, they (Kamal Haasan and Arjun) are equals in the film, but here we have a mentor-mentee relationship. 

So, the idea was to show a meek police officer and that eventually led to the buddy-cop genre…

Exactly. The initial seed for Por Thozhil was about an aspiring filmmaker who wanted to make a crime thriller. And for research, he tags along with a senior cop who is solving a serial killer mystery. Idha yoschite irukum podhu Jigarthanda (Karthik Subbaraj’s 2014 film) vandhiruchu (laughs) (When we kept thinking about this plot, Jigarathanda released). So, we changed the story and filed the first draft.

Then, Raatchasan (2018) came. Raatchasan shared a similar spirit in the way we designed our script. It was upsetting initially, but in hindsight, it actually helped in making our script better. Only because of Raatchasan, we reworked the script and the story evolved.

In one particular scene, Ashok Selvan and Sarathkumar are sitting in a car, watching the serial killer’s moves. By that time, Ashok’s character had already made some brave decisions in the film. But he keeps fidgeting nervously as he waits in the car. Tell us about that scene. 

Besides the writing, most credits should go to Ashok Selvan. It is easy to write but he constantly showed contrasting emotions throughout the film, which shows Ashok’s calibre. About that scene, it is one of the parts Alfred and I were really struggling with. We both knew what should happen in the scene. As they wait outside, the senior guy has to say something to the junior, which gives him that extra boost. The dialogue is quite famous now, “Bayandhavan elaam kozhai illa. Bayandhu odraan paaru avan thaan kozhai” (Not all those who fear are cowards, those who fear and run away are the cowards). 

But we were stuck for at least two days with this scene. And Alfred came up with the dialogue. When you think about it, the dialogue is a derivative of a line from Kuruthipunal where Kamal Haasan says, “Veeran na yaarunu theriyuma? Bayam ilaadha maari nadikuravan dhaan. (A brave person is the one who acts as if he is not afraid)'' 

Like Ashok Selvan’s backstory, there are a lot of simple one-liners that beautifully convey the story. But there are a few that don’t work entirely, especially when some of the twists are revealed in very few shots. Do you think keeping it simple always works?

It is a call. In some places, we were confident. But in a few others, we knew it was a risk. There were questions like puriyuma, podhuma (Will it be enough, will people understand). But somewhere down the line, you have to trust your audience that they will connect the dots. Because with the audience today, you can’t overdo it either, they don’t like spoon-feeding. They are ahead of you in so many ways. So you just trust that they will get it because we have not deceived or cheated. Even if the audience feels that way, when they watch the film for the second time, they will know that we haven’t cheated them.

Besides the writing and staging, lighting plays an important role in the film. Can you tell us about that?

For instance, when you see the introduction scenes of Sarathkumar sir and Ashok Selvan, the lighting itself will be different. Ashok Selvan’s portions will be bright, and fully lit, but Sarathkumar sir’s introduction scene will be in a dark space, and Ashok will enter through the door. Even otherwise, we kept Sarathkumar sir in the shadows for the most part. 

Overall, a warm glow will be used only in Ashok Selvan’s introduction and the post-climax sequence towards the end. It will be dark during other times. Even if it is daytime, it will not be bright, it will be flat. The post-climax scene was shot during sunset because we wanted to get the golden glow. 

Since Por Thozhil ends with a message, can you tell us what's your take on films that have a message towards the end, especially investigative thrillers?

We had a lot of conversations about whether we should keep such a scene or not. When we think of the niche audience, they will not like this. So initially, the ending scenes were the same but the treatment was different. But it was music director Jakes Bejoy who said that we have to give this message because the mainstream audience will expect that ending. I told him that it might become cringe, people might say it is preachy. But he told me to trust him on this and we went ahead. 

Even three days before release, I was thinking thookiralaam ah nu (if I should remove it). But many people liked it. They said, indha padathula ipdi oru message solliteengale nu (you have said such a message in a film like this). I am also confused. I can see that it is working 100%, I have seen it in the theatres. But if it were just up to me, the ending would have been different. It would still be positive and with hope, but the treatment would have been different. 

It’s a buddy cop film, a genre that renders more scope for sequels. So are there any plans?

A lot of people are asking me this. If we had known this, we would have included a scene to create hype. But the reason people are asking for a sequel is because they have gotten attached to the characters and they want to see more of them. They are not asking it for the plot or experience. 

So, in that case, even if we do part 2, the focus will be on these characters. Where do we take them from here? What happens to them? What is their relationship like? We have started to think about it, that is what we’re trying to crack. The case is only secondary. So, definitely, we are putting in that effort; paniralaam nu thaan thonudhu, paakalaam (We think we can do it, let's see).