Exclusive interview: Arulnithi oozes confidence in debutant director Innasi Pandiyan

Diary has been written and directed by debutant Innasi Pandiyan, who co-wrote Chiyaan Vikram’s upcoming release Cobra.

Diary is yet another thriller coming from Arulnithi Tamilarasu. (arulnithitamil/Twitter)

In between his hectic schedule, Arulnithi took some time out for South First, exclusively, to talk about his career and future releases.

‘Diary is different from previous thrillers’

One aspect that Arulnithi is known for is thriller films, and many of those films have been hits. “Of the 15 films I’ve acted in so far, eight are thrillers and Diary, too, falls in that category,” he smiled.

“Though I did these many thrillers, the concept is different in every movie and so is the whodunnit. In fact, Diary is a supernatural fantasy thriller.”

Innasi Pandiyan met Arulnithi when they working on Aarathu Sinam, directed by Arivazhagan. Pandiyan was the director’s associate, and Arulnithi found him to be extremely dedicated.

“We became good friends. I always knew that he would make it big. Pandiyan wanted to write a new kind of film from the beginning — he didn’t want to make something that had already been seen on screen,” said Arulnithi.

“He approached the production house with another script. But when he brought the script for Diary, I came on board. I found it interesting and it was exciting to hear even during the narration.”

Two of the Mouna Guru star’s films have been released in quick succession in the last few months: D Block and Déjàvu.

“Diary was supposed to be released before D Block and Déjàvu. But because of the pandemic, the post-production works — especially the Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) — took time,” the actor said.

“Post-Covid-19, a whole lot of films — including Diary — were in the pipeline for want of CGI works, and hence were delayed. But I’m happy with the film. Diary is different from my previous thrillers and I have confidence in the director.”

Diary is Arulnithi’s 15th film, and he has a lot of hope pinned on this one. “I have never worked with the same director twice in my career. But I definitely want to work with Pandiyan again, whatever may be the outcome,” he said.

“This film is technically good, and I’m sure that the audience will like it. However, it’s in their hands as to how big a hit it will be. This will also be a turning point for Pandiyan,” Arulnithi added.

Arulnithi on the work front

Arulnithi believes that Diary will be a turning point for director Innasi. (arulnithitamil/Twitter)

As of now, Arulnithi has four more films in his kitty, and is busy shooting for two of them. But doesn’t he want to try other genres now, beyond thrillers, given that the last three films of his were thrillers?

“When I did K13, I thought I might not do thrillers anymore, and did a sports action drama called Kalathil Santhippom with Jiiva. But then, along came the scripts for Déjàvu, D Block, and Diary. Déjàvu was a good movie, and Arvindh Srinivasan did it well for a debutant director. Now, I am confident about Diary’s success,” he said.

Arulnithi just completed an emotional family drama, with director Prabhu, where he plays a deaf-mute person.

Director Syed Gowthamraj’s flick is a village-based story and a completely commercial film, while Demonte 2 will start in October. He has an action film with debutant director Vijay as well.

So, how does he select his scripts? “I select my scripts but my friends — of all ages — do sit with me through the narrations. And I listen to the script two-three times. At the end of the day, I decide whether or not to do the movie, but I listen to people’s ideas before selecting the script,” he said.

Udhayanidhi Stalin on Diary

Diary is being released by his cousin Udhayanidhi Stalin under the banner Red Giant Movies. During a press meet on Thursday, 25 August, Stalin did say that he liked Diary.

“Arul has had a good nose for scripts from the beginning, and sometimes I get jealous about how good his choices are! I think that’s his strength, and he works with a lot of debutant directors,” he said.

“Unfortunately, I haven’t had a good experience with debutant directors. But Arul believes that the producers should be comfortable enough to get their investment back. Diary has a lot of layers. Director Innasi Pandiyan and Arul have pulled it off really well,” he said.

Ask Arulnithi about his response to his cousin’s statements, and pat comes the reply: “Anna (Udhay) was supposed to do Vamsam, but he referred me to the makers. Red Giant and Anna have always backed me and my films. I’m really happy about that.”

Straight from the pages of #Diary…catch all the hard-work and madness behind the scenes!#DiaryFromTomorrow. Have you booked your tickets yet? @arulnithitamil @kathiresan_offl @innasi_dir @5starcreationss @Udhaystalin @DoneChannel1 pic.twitter.com/TTNNmZz3TK

— Red Giant Movies (@RedGiantMovies_) August 25, 2022