Vignesh Raja, the writer-director whose debut Por Thozhil (2023) became one of Tamil cinema's most celebrated crime thrillers, sits down with Vishal Menon for InFocus ahead of the release of his highly anticipated second film, Kara. Starring Dhanush in the lead role and set against the backdrop of the 1991 Gulf War, Kara follows a former robber forced back into crime to protect his family. Vignesh opens up about the emotional high of Dhanush's recent tweet calling him a genius, the creative pressure of following up a debut hit, and how he and co-writer Alfred Prakash navigated the writing of their second film — debating every idea, writing through the night at a 24-hour coffee shop in Vepery, and locking themselves away for 14-day stretches to bang out final drafts. In this wide-ranging conversation, Vignesh reflects on the moment during the writing of Por Thozhil when he first knew he was meant to be a director, the challenges of directing a star like Dhanush whose filmography spans 3, Mayakkam Enna, Polladhavan, Maari and Naane Varuvean, and why he had to loosen his storyboarding instincts for the emotionally charged scenes in Kara. He also shares how a month-long production gap led him to develop a racing film set in Irudhaya — only to abandon it after watching F1 — and the one unplanned rainy-day scene in Kara that he'll never forget. An honest, craft-focused conversation about collaboration, trust, and the second-film curve.