How ‘Hi’ director Vishnu Edavan brought the old-school Tamil cinema entertainer back

In the 1990s and 2000s, Tamil cinema found comfort in a very specific pleasure — breezy entertainers. All you needed was a simple story, an ensemble, memorable songs, and a good old comedy track to make your day. However, as the years progressed, filmmakers began chasing grander dreams, slowly letting go of one of Tamil cinema’s most satisfying indulgences. Audiences have missed the sub-genre so much that even a mention of those films evoke memories of those good old movie weekends. And last week, that feeling of nostalgia heightened for the best reason possible: Hi, starring Kavin and Nayanthara, surprised filmgoers by turning the clock back.

Lyricist-director Vishnu Edavan, rejoicing at the film’s reception, says making his directorial debut with an old-school entertainer was precisely his dream. “I wanted to make films like the ones KS Ravikumar sir did, or like Yaaradi Nee Mohini, Santosh Subramaniam, and so on.” At a time when most filmmakers are trying to figure out fresher genres to opt for, choosing to do a film so old-school might have attracted opposing opinions. “Which is why, right before I started narrating the scripts, I would tell the listener that I intended to make this film in this specific style,” says Vishnu, adding that the film’s producers and actors thankfully saw merit in his idea.

Nayanthara and Vishnu Edavan from the sets of ‘Hi’
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

The film follows a vulnerable man, Mayilsamy (Kavin), and a sharp, confident woman, Devayani (Nayanthara), who find each other in one of the worst phases of their lives. Mayil falls in love with Devayani, and when a sudden twist of fate threatens to upend their lives, he sees an opportunity to realise his dreams — he hatches a plan that would forever change his and Devayani’s lives. If any other director had helmed this story, you could imagine an additional flashback or a few other surprise twists in the second half. Not Vishnu. “ Right from the beginning, we were clear that when someone steps in to watch this film, they shouldn’t feel any tension or a sense of urgency; it should be a jolly experience.” Vishnu sees the irony in an erstwhile assistant to filmmaker Lokesh Kanagaraj making such a film. “Yes, his films all have high stakes; you never know who’ll lose their head in the next scene. But I wanted to do the opposite.”

Kavin’s Mayil is a vulnerable male lead — as Vishnu calls him, ‘a pachcha pulla’ — and the second half follows the antics of this naive man. What particularly fascinates one is how the late veteran Bhagyaraj is written as the father of a man who might remind many fans of the 80s Bhagyaraj — timid and emotional. “I wanted this to be a Bhagyaraj film, but in my style. I wanted the hero to be vulnerable, not someone who would beat up 40 people.”

It gets even better when you realise that the film’s only action sequence features Bhagyaraj rolling up his sleeves as he shows a villain his place. “Usually, they would give Prabhu sir a ‘massy’ role and give Bhagyaraj sir an emotional one; but I wanted to make Prabhu sir cry and have Bhagyaraj sir in an action sequence as a father who stands up for his son. There, I brought back the Bhagyaraj sir we saw in Vaettiya Madichu Kattu,” says Vishnu.

Hi is a film that rides high on the performances of the ensemble and Vishnu felt quite comfortable directing his actors. “I told them during the narration that this would be a simple film told as realistically as possible. And I left it up to the artistes to do whatever they wanted to convey the emotion on paper. And it becomes easier when you have such experienced artistes in the cast.”

Bhagyaraj, Sathyan, Prabhu and Radikaa Sarathkumar in a still from ‘Hi’
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Having done the old-school film he wanted to do, Vishnu’s next will be different. “I have around four scripts to choose from. But I can confidently say that whatever my next film is, it will be in the zone of films like Padaiyappa, Vasool Raja MBBS, Catch Me If You Can, and so on.” As far as writing lyrics go, Vishnu will continue to do so, though his filmmaking dreams might make the endeavour more infrequent — in fact, if not for his directorial commitments, Vishnu would have written one more song for Coolie (apart from ‘Monica’ and ‘Uyirnaadi Nanbane’) and a song or two for Jana Nayagan. “I will keep writing songs. After all, writing lyrics gave me a livelihood. Even now, whenever I write a script, my pen automatically begins writing songs.”