Behindwoods
January 20th, 2005

An interview with Director Shankar, who was busy the sets of Anniyan. Excerpts from the interview:

Question: Many of the big artists in the Tamil cine field want to act in your film, even Vijay has expressed his desire to act in your film. Comment on this…

Shankar: In my films, I usually give more importance to heroism. I will extract all the hidden talents of a hero in my films. So they get a good name after acting in my film. That might be the reason why many actors want to act in my film. I and Vijay have talked about doing a film together but the time for that has not come yet.

Question: It seems that the budget of Anniyan crosses 20 crores. Can’t you do small budget films?

Shankar: It is possible but after directing the film Gentleman, producers use me only to direct high budget films.

Question: Could any secrets about Anniyan be revealed at this point?

Shankar: When we go to foreign countries, we are impressed about many things, for example, the cleanliness of their country. Sometimes we think why our country is like this and what can be done to improve our country. These thoughts only gave birth to the story of Anniyan.

Question: Some say that Vikram is doing dual roles in the film, Anniyan…

Shankar: Please see the movie. I like Vikram because, he is ready to take any risk and he is willing to do any type of role. Anniyan will be one step higher than the films that Vikram has done so far. He has done a very good job in Anniyan.

Question: Can we see any song like “Ale Ale” in Boys?

Shankar: We have filmed a song by beautifully painting 350 houses in Tenkasi. We have also shot a song in a Malaysian airport for the first time in Tamil cinema.

Question: What made Director Shankar to turn into Producer Shankar for the film Kathal?

Shankar: Sakthivel Balaji, the director of Kathal, has told me the story when I was shooting Boys. I liked the emotion and the speed that was within Balaji. So I agreed to produce Kathal and I am happy about the success of the film.