A reflection of reality

After the release of his last Tamil blockbuster Kandaswamy, director Susi Ganesan shifted base to Mumbai. After two years of hard work, his Bollywood directorial debut ‘Shortcut Romeo’ opened to a fabulous start. Susi infuses reality in all his films including his latest venture. He has borrowed heavily from his real-life experiences for the film.

Metrolife got Susi talking about his tryst with Bollywood and what prompted him to make ‘Shortcut Romeo.’ A graduate of Madras Institute of Technology, Susi wasn’t content with just being another engineer. He wanted to stand out of the hoi polloi and what better way than weaving Eastmancolour dreams on the large screen.

After assisting Mani Ratnam in Iruvar and Dil Se, Susi made his first film Virumbikiren with newcomers. He later directed for Mani Ratnam’s production house, Madras Talkies. From then on, there was no looking back.

Susi says there are a lot of people who are willing to make money, through quick means. “People don’t mind getting their hands greased — be it the politician, police or layman — to make those extra bucks. But that’s how the seeds of corruption are sown and then it grows. If the head of the family takes a bribe and his children are watching him doing so, they think it’s alright. So you see how the thread flows,” he observes.

There’s a song in the movie that takes a dig at the so-called high profile people who don’t mind taking shortcuts to get things done. “I wrote the script after I saw a lot of such instances happening around me. They were too ‘in the face’ to be ignored. The movie is a reflection of reality,” he says.

Susi didn’t think twice before zeroing in on Neil Nitin Mukesh for the lead role, “The story is about a lazy young man who takes shortcuts to make fast money. He wants to live like a rich man and he goes to any length to achieve that,” he adds.
About Neil, Susi says, “I wanted someone who can play the role of a good and a bad guy equally well. I saw that in Neil.”