Panjaa director vishnu vardhan interview

Hyderabad: Tamil film director Vishnuvardhan Kulasekaran, who has made half a dozen films in the southern movie industry, including an impressive debut in Telugu films with the Pawan Kalyan-starrer "Panjaa", is looking forward to directing in Hindi and other languages.

The director, who has carved a niche for himself in the Tamil industry with his stylish direction, is also keen to work on Malayalam and Kannada movies if he comes across good projects.  "It is always nice to get into different audiences," Vishnuvardhan told IANS in an interview For the director of Tamil hits like "Arinthum Ariyamalum", "Pattiyal" and "Billa", languages are not a hurdle.

"Generally movies will have no language. A movie speaks for itself. A director's task remains the same everywhere and it is only the language which changes," he said. Vishnuvardhan, who worked for six to seven years in Mumbai, also has plans to enter Bollywood. "I will be doing it down the line," he said.

He is satisfied with the response "Panjaa" has received since its release last week. The action thriller also has several non-Telugu stars like Jackie Shroff, Sarah Jane Dias, a former Miss India, and Anjali Lavania, a model who appeared on the Kingfisher calendar.

Produced by Shobu Yarlagadda of Arka Media and Nilima Tirumalsetti of Sanghamitra Arts, "Panjaa" is a love story set against a mafia backdrop. Shot extensively in Kolkata, the technically sound movie impressed the audience especially with stylish direction and photography.

"I always wanted to make a Telugu film. I was excited making it and today I am proud of this film," said Vishnuvardhan.

"I can understand Telugu as it is my mother tongue," said the director, whose family shifted to Chennai two generations ago.

"There are little cultural differences between Tamil and Telugu. A movie maker has to understand the sensibilities of audiences," he said when asked how different it was for him to direct a Telugu movie.

Sharing his experiences of working with Pawan Kalyan, who is a powerful name in southern filmdom, the director said he enjoyed it.

"When we generally work we don't look at that (the star's image). I know his magnitude and the massive fan-following he enjoys but when I met him I found him a humble and simple person," he said.

His next movie would be in Tamil with Ajith Kumar, whom he had directed in the 2007 blockbuster "Billa". The yet-to-be titled movie will go on the sets in February next year.

(Mohammed Shafeeq can be contacted at m.shafeeq@ians.in)