The trailer for Hip Hop Tamizha Adhi’s upcoming directorial, Kadaisi Ulaga Por, starts with a shot of the iconic Ripon Building reduced to rubble and ends with the Chepauk stadium blown to bits by a bomb. “The film talks about humanity,” says Adhi. On how the terrifying premise of a ‘last World War’ ties in with a pacifistic theme, the actor-director says, “We have observed how during disasters like flood or war, people shed their identities like religion, caste, and mother tongue, and help each other out.
Whenever there is a large-scale problem affecting large groups of people, humanity somehow prevails. Now, why can’t we uphold our humanitarian values during peaceful times as well? The film is born out of such a thought and we thought a World War would be an exciting setting for the story.” As for the delightfully indulgent VFX explosions of iconic Chennai buildings, Adhi explains, “It is common to see iconic buildings get destroyed during a World War.
At the beginning of the war in the film, they drop bombs on Central Station and the Chepauk stadium. It is used to signify the start of the war and also to give the audience a sense of doom.” He then adds, “There is art in destruction.
I thought it would be exciting if the explosions were shown tastefully and made sure there was no excessive gore and violence. This is an imaginary situation, we are not recreating an actual war, so I wanted to have fun with that.” While the large-scale explosions were VFX creations, Kadaisi Ulaga Por also had a lot of practical explosions.
Incidentally, one such scene happened to be Adhi’s favourite to film. “There is a scene in the trailer where there is a camp set up in an open field and a series of explosions decimate the place. I was far away in a tent monitoring the visuals with my crew when all the explosions went off for two continuous minutes, and extras had to run away.
I held my breath for those two minutes and then when the shot ended, all of us ran out of the tent in celebration,” recounts the director. Preparation was a key factor in making sure such shots were executed perfectly. “We had a minimal budget, so we could only take one shot of such big explosions.
For example, there was a scene in which a rocket launcher would hit and blow up a huge building. It was a practical set and we could only film it once. So, we prepared day and night for that shot and the thrill of getting it right still remains fresh in my memory,” says an excited Adhi.
With such high-octane action sequences, one wonders if Anagha, who plays a politician in the film, feels left out. “It is not shown in the trailer but I do have action scenes,” she laughs. As for playing a politician, the actor says she consciously refrained from taking real-world references.
“When I get my lines, I prepare well before the shooting and I set myself for the emotional range and the mood of the scene. But, I don’t think too much about my character. I am not really into method acting,” says Anagha.
Having worked with Adhi in the 2019 film, Natpe Thunai, Angaha admits to having a level of comfort in working with Adhi again. However, the scale and scope of the film intrigued her as well. She says, “It is an interesting story and my character has a very powerful role.
You rarely get offered such roles so I jumped on the opportunity to do the film.” ‘I would love to make a film about ancient Tamils’ However, actor Natty might argue that his morally complex character named Natty AKA Natarajan (named after himself) might be the most interesting character in the film. Called a ‘Kingmaker’ in the film, Natty describes his character as someone “who would go to any lengths, do anything, to ensure his survival.
” Natty further explains, “There are no heroes or villains in this story. When you deal with a war on a global scale, people are forced to shed their moral values, you cannot be a good person or a bad person, you can just be human, that is what the film is all about.” Adhi interjects to add, “For example, Sha Ra plays an actor in the film, who struggles to find his place in a world where his fame does not mean anything anymore.
Established social hierarchies and moral values have been upended.” This is perhaps why the writer-director has deemed it appropriate to open the film with the point-of-view of Natty’s character. The upcoming political satire also marks Adhi’s sophomore effort in film production, with his first being the 2021 film, Sivakumarin Sabadham.
The writer-director-actor-producer’s skill sets extend well beyond films and into efforts like Independent music, with his Underground Tribe, and documentaries like Tamizhi. Adhi winds the clock back in time, “As someone who hails from a non-film background, entering the film industry is itself an achievement. I was making mixtapes in 2005 and by the time I started working in films, it was 2015.
It was a long and tedious journey. I am happy to do films. So, I don’t have a focused goal for my film career.
” He further confesses that it is fun to be a part of all these projects and that he considers it a privilege to dabble across all these different forms of art. He then gets candid, “There is also a selfish reason to do all of this. There is no better way to collect all of this amazing knowledge from up close.
” He then pulls an example out of his upcoming documentary about Adichanallur archaeological excavations. “During the making of the documentary, we learned that ancient Tamils used to bury their dead in a burial pod known as “muthumakkal thazhi”, where they would lay the body in a sitting-crouched position. This is used to resemble the way a foetus is positioned inside the mother’s womb.
This shines light on the interesting philosophy that ties birth and death, and the naturalist approach ancient Tamils had to life.” Adhi clarifies that such readings of ancient history are directed towards unearthing the wisdom of our ancestors and not merely glorifying our past. “Tamizhi ends by hinting at how much more we could learn from Adichanallur and coincidentally, the Archaeological Survey of India started excavating the site two years after we released the documentary.
Our upcoming documentary on Adichanallur talks about the findings of the excavations.” When do we get to see it? “We will release it sometime next year,” he smiles. With all the knowledge and interest in history, is it inevitable to see Adhi directing a period film? “I would love to do a period film about ancient Tamils, I have a story, the moment I get the right resources, I will make it,” signs off a resolute Adhi.
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