'I want to make movies in every language'

Simple and humble, that’s how one can describe director Samuthirakani. But those who have worked with him will tell you more about his talent, especially behind the camera.

After all, he has learnt the tricks of the trade from none other than K Balachander, with whom he worked as an assistant, for many years. And now, after hits like Nadodigal and Poralli, he has emerged as one of the most popular directors.

For him, cinema is a medium to express and explore various human emotions. He says he can never forget what his guru K Balachander had taught him, which is, “To never cheat the audience. Narrate the story as you would to a child.” And that’s exactly what he has been doing all these years.

Now, he is all set to make his debut in Kannada by directing none other than ‘Power Star’ Puneeth Rajkumar in Yaare Koogaadali. The first thing he says as he settles down for a tete-e-tete with Metrolife is, “Puneeth is a real hero. There can be no one else like him. I am completely floored by his energy, experience, ability to learn and get into any character.”

The movie is a remake of his hit Poralli. But he says that he has made enough changes to it so that it would be a completely new movie with a faster narrative. Interestingly, the production house of Yaare... has earlier remade Nadodigal and even seen success with it. But one wonders why he never directed it himself in Kannada.

“I was approached to direct it but I couldn’t adjust my dates. But I did see the Kannada version and loved it. They have done a wonderful job. In fact, I wanted to remake Hudugaru in Tamil again,” he laughs.

The success of Nadodigal gave him the much-needed push. But he says that he has learnt to meet the expectations of the audience.

   “As long as the film is made with a clear conscience, there is nothing to worry about,” he adds.

He says he was always eager to direct Puneeth and Kannada films as well. But one wonders why he
didn’t want to make his debut in Kannada with an original script. “I really wanted to, but Poralli is a great story. Maybe my next film with Puneeth will be an original script,” he hints.

He has directed Telugu films also and now wants to give Bengali films a try. “Art has no language. I want to make movies in every language. I enjoy movies that are high on emotions. That is the focus in most of my films. There is so much more to explore and say to the world. This is only the start,” he sums up.