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You have been successful as a director, writer and producer.
Which do you feel is the toughest job among them?
I would say that Script writing is the toughest job as this demands more creativity and is key to the success of any movie.
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Who were the directors that you have made role model in direction?
Fazil is the person who has impressed me a lot in Direction and hence he is my model. His aesthetic sense and crave for perfection is worth appreciation.
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How did the Siddique-Lal team happen?
We started our association through mimics programmes at Kalabhavan. We were together at Kalabhavan our partnership really worked. After that we got the opportunity to continue the partnership while working with Fazil.
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Will the Siddique-Lal duo make a comeback again?
The chances for such a come back is very scarce. Lal is now concentrating on acting. We are now established as separate professionals. So professionally speaking, it is now better to work separately. And we are still good friends and appreciate and criticize each others works to make each other more perfect.
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And do you plan to get into Acting?
No Plans as of now. I am now concentrating fully on Direction. Earlier I had a lot of experience on stage. But now I am comfortable at the other end of the camera.
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When you are the director in a film, have you ever felt that you could have done better?
(smiles...) To be frank I have never felt like that. I am confident that I have put the best of me into each films. Also regarding techniques, I have put the best available techniques available always. So I am satisfied with what I have done. But when we see modern techniques available now a days as any Director would do, I use to think if these techniques were available in those days. A good example for this is when I did the remake of the film Friends in Tamil.
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Which are your best films so far?
Infact I admire all my movies...still Ramji Rao Speaking tops the list
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Mukesh is an unavoidable person when it comes to charactorisation in most of your projects.
Is there any specific reasons?
See, I don't make characters keeping actors in mind. But still you know each director knows the strengths and weeknesses of actors whom you have worked with. In my opinion, Mukesh is good at handling humour. So when I have a character that perfectly demands his touch, he is brought into the team. Also in many other movies like Vietnam Colony and Kabuliwala, you won't find Mukesh. So that depends on the plot story and many other factors.
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Most of you movies has English titles. Is that a deliberate attempt?
In fact, this style was adopted with the film Ramji Rao Speaking. It was not a deliberate attempt initially. But later, I made many films with English titles. And those were deliberate attempts to make a pattern. And by God's grace, all turned out to do well at the box office.
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This is an age of Reality Shows. What is your opinion on this kind of entertainment shows?
My view on reality shows is that there are much more emerging talents these days. These shows offer a platform to the budding talents to perform and to get evaluated.
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Which are the Thrilling Moments that comes to your mind as a prominent figure in film industry?
The most thrilling moment in my professional life was at the time of Shooting the movie In Harihar Nagar. This movie was the first movie I did after the success of my first movie. The screenplay was also differently made. The shoot was completed in different locations. Also the film had a lot of new faces in it. The shoot was totally a different experience and I really enjoyed it.
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Can you share a few words on your new movie, Body Guard?
This is basically a Love story. The shooting is in progress. But its not a campus love story. Shamili or Nayanthara was earlier fixed as the heroine. But later Nayanthara was fixed. The story offers great scope for Nayanthara to present a strong character. The story was completed 2 years back. But due to various reasons the shoot was postponed. Dilip was fixed as hero and his availability was the main issue as he was engaged with other movies like mulla. The whole shooting will be in Kerala itself.
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Can you share with us about your other interests.
I am a voracious reader and I have a passion for books. My profession demands a lot of travel, still I am not much interested to travel.
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Finally, how would you like to be remembered, as a writer, director or producer?
I would like to be known as a good person (smiles). As a good husband, as a good father, as a good friend. As far as my career is concerned I like to be known as a good Director and as a good Script Writer.
