'I LEARNT THE MADURAI DIALECT FROM APPA'

Ahead of the release of his upcoming film, Kombuseevi, Shanmuga Pandian Vijayakant talks about his rural sojourn, comparisons with his illustrious father, and more

- AKSHAY KUMAR

BEFORE the pan-Indian bug bit the Tamil film industry, Pollachi was a major hub of filmmaking. As a vestige of this dwindling practice, director Ponram makes it a point to set his films in the south, around Theni. This time around, he is joined by Shanmuga Pandian Vijayakant, who is once again starting in a Madurai-based film after Madurai Veeran, and Padai Thalaivan, and now Kombuseevi. “Doing rural films back-to-back was not the idea. It just so happened that directors were keen on utilising me in stories with that backdrop, and I can only pick films that come my way,” Shanmuga Pandian begins.

Ponram’s screenplay structure conveys the strongest message in a lighter vein, easily comprehensible for people from all walks of life. Taking the example of Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam, which hit out at honour killing armed with humour, Shanmuga Pandian says Kombuseevi too discusses a contemporary issue and is being dealt with in a Ponram-esque manner. “Whatever you saw in the teaser is not the complete picture. There is more to it. My character, Pandi and Sarathkumar sir’s Rokkapuli share a special bond. They are based on two real characters. But with four or five true incidents from their lives, Ponram sir has crafted a really entertaining film.”