Sundar C on ‘Aranmanai 4’: ‘Commerical filmmakers should be prepared for negative reviews’

Ahead of the release of ‘Aranmanai 4,’ veteran director and reluctant actor Sundar C shares why films from the horror-comedy genre make for franchises, and why he likes writing comedy

Sundar C’s office is decked with photos of his family, framed graduation certificates of his daughters, and photographs of his wife, actor Khushbu, with her colleagues from the 80s and 90s. The importance of the word ‘family’ extends to his target audience as well, something he considers to be paramount for his 30-year-old career as a filmmaker. “Aranmanai worked as a franchise because it catered to the family audience,” says Sundar as we sit down to speak about the fourth film from the franchise.

Excerpts from an interview:

It’s a package; if you take Aranmanai, it’s not just horror and humour. There is emotional bonding, nice visuals, an ensemble cast and divine intervention at the end. I like how all the films in the franchise — negating the flashback sequence — unravel within three to four days, with the climax happening in just a day. The challenge is to come up with a compelling end to that story within the timeframe. I believe all of this, along with good music and CG, make the franchise what it is.

When you’re a commercial filmmaker, you should be prepared for negative reviews. Critics rate commercial films lower than other styles of films; I don’t mind it and believe commercial films aren’t their cup of tea. My target audience is families and children. You can’t watch Aranmanai with the same mentality as watching Schindler’s List. But imagine watching it like you’re seeing Lion King. I love animated films; my all-time favourite is Finding Nemo. That’s the point of view from which I take my films and I can’t expect critics to share the same perspective. If you notice a clothing store or a hotel, you’ll have customers choosing a range of items from whatever the shop has to offer. But in the film industry alone, you have to make one product to satisfy all sorts of audiences.

Iruttu is an underrated film directed by VZ Dorai sir, but it did well commercially. We were planning on doing Iruttu 2 and I was researching on my own for a knot, which is when my writers told me about the Baak folklore which I found to be interesting. Like Ilaiyaraaja sir’s music, folklore is also a part of our upbringing and this story took shape. Dorai sir was busy with Thalainagaram 2, so I thought I could make an Aranmanai film out of it.

I was not keen on acting this time. Directing, handling production and acting simultaneously is too difficult. I made sure there wasn’t a need for a second lead (which he played in the first three films) while scripting. But, in the end, the situation made me take up that role as well.

Ravi and Saravanan are two names that I often use in my films; it’s nice to see that you’ve noticed it. Saravanan is the name of my cousin with whom I shared a cordial relationship, and only after he passed away did I realise how much I missed him. Using his name is more of a tribute. There’s no such reason behind Ravi; I prefer short names for both my leads and it’s usually names like Ravi, Maya or Indhu. During the scripting stage, we denote them as hero, heroine and villain, and it’s only during the shoot we come up with something.