Director Vignesh Raja's crime thriller is going strong in theatres even after 25 days and has already grossed over ₹50 crore worldwide.
'Por Thozhil' writer Alfred Prakash (right) with director Vignesh Raja. (Supplied)
Director Vignesh Raja’s investigative crime thriller Por Thozhil — featuring actors Sarath Kumar, Ashok Selvan, and Nikhila Vimal in the lead — might have been made on a very modest budget, but its returns are high and handsome.
The Tamil film has not only captivated audiences across the world but also set the cash registers ringing at the box office.
Director Vignesh Raja’s crime thriller is still going strong in theatres by completing 25 days and has already grossed over ₹50 crore worldwide since its release.
‘Por Thozhil’ is a mega hit. (Ashok Selvan/ Twitter)
That Por Thozhil would emerge a success was something that the makers knew even before its release. But what seems to have surprised them is the overwhelming nature of the success of this small-budget film.
Its overseas distributor Deepa Iyer from Ahimsa disclosed that Por Thozhil was such a huge success that they were even able to take it to small countries like Malta.
Malta, impressed by the content, specifically requested for the movie to be screened there.
Por Thozhil is also doing exceptionally well in the Western world where even in its fourth week, it has been running to full houses.
Everybody agrees unilaterally that the core reason for the humongous success of the film is its content.
Against this backdrop, South First caught up with Alfred Prakash, who wrote the story along with director Vignesh Raja, for an insight into how they came up with the plot of this winner. Excerpts from the interview:
Q. Where did you get the spark for this investigative thriller that has caught the attention of audiences across the globe?
The cast and crew of the film at a success meet. (Ashok Selvan/ Twitter)
A. I was reading the book “Mind Hunter” by John Douglas. It deals at length with the FBI’s Behavioural Unit and I got to know about how the FBI identifies potential serial killers by using a behavioural study.
It was while reading this book that I got the spark for Por Thozhil. I told the idea to Vignesh, and he was kicked about it. That was how we began.
Q. Tell us about the process of jointly writing this story?
A. Vignesh Raja and I have been friends for quite a while and we both were working as journalists in a vernacular news channel. We worked on the script of Por Thozhil at night as we would have to go to work in the mornings for our survival.
We would start writing the story at about seven in the evening and work until six the next morning. We would then catch a couple of hours of sleep and then rush to work. This exercise would be repeated the next day.
Q. How long did you work like this to develop the final script?
‘Por Thozhil’ finished 25 days of theatrical run and is still going strong. (Ashok Selvan/ Twitter)
A. It took us four long years to produce the script that was finally made into the film Por Thozhil.
Once we got the idea, we worked on the script. The Step Outline process was the most challenging part and it took us a good two years to complete it.
The Step Outline is a process where we break down the key events of the story and sequence them without dialogues.
After the Step Outline process, we worked on the dialogue version. We went to Yercaud, Valparai, and Kothagiri for 10 days each to work on the dialogues.
Later, we came up with the first draft of Por Thozhil. We continued to refine the draft resulting in various revisions.
By the time we arrived at the final script, we had made nine drafts apart from the first one.
A still from ‘Por Thozhil’. (Ashok Selvan/ Twitter)
Q. A writer penning a story all on his own is different from two writers working in tandem. How difficult or easy is it to write a script with another person?
A. Both Vignesh and I understand each other very well. In fact, it is better when you have someone else writing a story along with you as you can use them as a sounding board to test your ideas.
Vignesh and I have the same sensibilities. In fact, when I have something to say, he invariably understands what I am looking to communicate even before I complete explaining.
Likewise, I understand what he has in mind when he begins to say something. So, it was a highly collaborative process.
Q. Now that Por Thozhil has been such an emphatic success, will there be a sequel to the film? If so, have you already begun work on the script? When can we expect the sequel to hit screens?
A. Yes, Por Thozhil 2 is definitely on. We have some ideas for the sequel in mind. However, we haven’t started working on the script yet as Vignesh has some work abroad. Once he returns, we would begin working on the script.
Vignesh Raja is scheduled to do another film next, and if all goes well, we may begin work on Por Thozhil 2 after that. So, I’d say you can expect the sequel in a couple of years.
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