A childlike innocence pervades Balaji Tharaneetharan's Baththa, which drives much of the plot forward, and maybe not too dissimilar from his incredibly well-written debut Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom (NKPK), which came out almost 15 years ago and detailed the life of a man who forgets his fiancée a night before the wedding.
What if a self-absorbed gangster is stuck inside a school bathroom? The question might be playfully naive, but in Baththa, which reunites Tharaneetharan with Vijay Sethupathi, this reaps rich dividends in the form of humour mined in unexpected places and the filmmaker's ability to show us on-screen what humans and their kindness are truly capable of.
The Tamil film, which is co-produced and backed by director Atlee and his wife, is the third film Tharaneetharan has cast Sethupathi in, with whom he has also made Seethakaathi (2018).
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, the filmmaker unpacks the memories that led him to make the gentle giant that is Baththa.
The film seems to be written from a deeply personal lens. Could you tell us how you approached it and the memories you based it on?
During the first lockdown of 2020, I went to the office for the first time in 50 days to write something. I wanted to think of something fresh, and this was when I watched Robert Bresson's French film A Man Escaped (1956). A man gets caught in a concentration camp, and there's no way to escape. It was painful for me to watch it, and it created fear in me. The film ends on a positive note, but it did get me thinking about whether I've ever been stuck somewhere like this.
When I was in second grade, I locked my teacher in the school washroom by mistake. Looks like she was banging on the door for a long time before someone opened it! She came into every classroom to find out who it was, and I immediately got scared. Later on, my uncle would keep reminding me that I did this.
Similarly, I've pushed a stone from a terrace while flying a kite, and someone got furious. When I was in the 12th grade, I saw a rowdy slash someone near the lake. He was alive, but covered with blood, and I was shaken by it.
The toy that Sabari plays with in the film is the same toy I've played with throughout my childhood. Sabari is a small version of the scared kid I was in my childhood. All of these memories washed over me, and I started writing a line about Baththa.
How did you decide to tell the story through the perspective of this young child?
The world that we witness is one thing, but the world that unfolds through a kid is something else. I see a big story in it. We accept many things as adults, but children are sensitive, and the world that they see is often the right one.
When I narrated the film to my daughter around four years back, the questions she asked seemed very basic but were the right ones. In Baththa's world, there's no Sabari. But Sabari's world has a Baththa, who is a nightmare. In the first draft, the film only had scenes from Sabari's point of view. So it didn't have the scene at the police station or the one with Baththa's daughter getting upset. Then I realised it was missing the drama, and reworked it in the second draft.
The film undergoes such a brilliant shift a few minutes in, and its promotional material too doesn't really let on. Was that intentional?
It just happened to unfold that way. When a rowdy gets stuck in this situation, I have only about 15 minutes to establish his goon ways. But I was careful that I didn't heroically prop him up. The idea was to create aversion among audiences, which will then make his transformation effective.
Humour is a big undercurrent in Baththa, even as these two protagonists are going through some sort of emotional upheaval.
These situations naturally come with humour. He is boisterous, and his ego is hurt when he is first stuck [in the restroom]. But towards the end, he softens, and the audience develops some sympathy for him. The story guided me, and I just tapped into it.
This is your third film with Vijay Sethupathi and the second after NKPK, where he is "stuck" in a unique situation, in a sense. What was that like?
He really liked the script. I find it very easy to speak to him. I've known him for a while, but his sensibilities are simple and never looks at anything as if he knows it so well. When he is reading through certain scenes, he'll still be like, "Oh, I hope this works out well, and I'm able to do it." We'd keep discussing the script and would keep thinking about his character.
He never gets ready for shots individually, but for the entire scene. And during rehearsals, while getting ready to embody the character, he's rarely satisfied easily. Even if I am, he keeps working on perfecting it. He will go to any lengths for a scene to work.
Did you write the film with him in mind? How did you approach scenes with him?
Though I didn't write the film with him in mind, I did feel he was apt for the role after writing it.
In the climax, he asked me what he needed to convey. For example, beyond the dialogue, what's running through Baththa's mind? This is what we discussed. If I just communicate this through a word or two, he immediately grasps and expresses it. He's a sensitive person, and he elevates these emotions. In many shots, I've asked him, "Vijay, this is fantastic; what were you thinking when you acted out these scenes?" I asked him especially about the mottamaadi (terrace) scene.
When you get performers like Vijay Sethupathi and Lijomol Jose to work with, it is such a satisfying process.
You've seen Vijay Sethupathi as an actor in various phases of his stardom. What is it like to direct him over the course of 15 years?
He's been the same friendly person I got to know years back. Maybe the only difference is that when I worked with him for a film like NKPK, if I didn't want a certain thing, I could tell him, 'Vendaam Vijay' [No, Vijay] easily. But now I probably explain why I don't want something.
He has grown so much as an actor. The way he looks at a scene is super interesting. Only experience teaches someone to elevate scenes this way.
As someone who began your journey in the industry along with Vijay, have you ever had to think about his image as an actor now that he is also a star?
I never thought of his image or that his fans couldn't accept him this way. I'm not very interested in hero-worship films, and Vijay Sethupathi isn't someone who asks for stories like that. If there is an interesting film in that space, he might take it up. But he's not a Tom Cruise kind of actor; he;s the Tom Hanks kind. He picks content-driven films and elevates them.
Through Baththa and Sabari, you're also showing us various kinds of men. There's Baththa and his bravado, and Sabari's dad, who lives with fear but with dignity. Was that an intentional commentary on masculinity?
I've always found people who are naturally very brave and loud, to be weak at times. I've also found strength in people who are naturally grounded. Even at home, I've always noticed how women are much stronger than men. Even if they get emotional, they are able to easily handle anything and come out of it, unlike men, who talk about being strong but lack maturity. I'm not generalising, but I've thought about this.
Can you talk about the gap between your films? Do you take a lot of time to write?
It takes some time to write, and I want to change that. Sometimes I guess I do tend to get a little laid-back. Only when I follow proper writing discipline am I able to finish the script. Writing requires focus and discipline, and if I had followed this, maybe I wouldn't have taken so long to finish.
I read and watch a lot, and these have been gateways to various things for me. When I go for a walk or cycle in the morning, it settles things in my mind and brings new ideas. We just need to plant the seed in our minds; it will do its job well.
How did Atlee come into the picture? You're both completely different kinds of filmmakers, and Baththa brought you together.
Sethupathi, who worked with Atlee on Jawan, introduced me to him because he thought he'd position it well. Atlee brought Cine1 Studios and Star Studio 18 into the project, and alsoo suggested that he set up all the chief technicians. I have a lot of belief in my team, but this allowed me to come out of my comfort zone. The communication was difficult in the beginning because I have worked with my team for many years, and I've known them. But this process was smooth, and I'm happy that there were no delays after filming.
Maybe two energies like ours had to come together for a film like Baththa to get the reach (smiles). I'm happy with the way Atlee positioned the film. The best thing about him is how openly he enjoys a narration, and kept laughing through several moments. When you see someone enjoying something so much while producing it, it makes for a satisfactory process. My heart filled up when both he and Ajit Andhare enjoyed the narration. But it also brought a lot of responsibility.
Today, for a film’s release, you need big names: either a star or a big production house. There is so much noise in the world, and in the middle of all that, if our voice is feeble, it might go unnoticed. Word-of-mouth is important, but the difference between cinema then and now is that we had time for word to travel. Today, that window is much shorter, so positioning becomes very important.