Filmmaker’s job is to bring the reality of the society to the audience: Director Varadraj Swami
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Writer-director Varadraj Swami was the writer of Manjhi The Mountain Man which came in 2015, which is considered to be the revolution of the world of the biopic.
Varadraj is making his debut as a director with the film Kabaad the coin. There is the trend of bringing untold stories every time. This is also seen in this film. is a message in your films. Is it to be believed that there is such a message in Kabaad the Coin? Which will give motivation to the society?
Varadraj Swami: Of course, I have always been working on similar stories, which have inspired society to move forward in a meaningful and positive way from today. Whatever we do to earn money,that whole business is kind of a rag for our life. The money we earn is a by-product. We should look at money by the product itself and not the need to rise above the sensations of human life. Rag means the world, coin means money. This film is based on this junk and coin. This is the psychology of different characters and the philosophy derived from those psychologies brings to the audience. Everyone wants to earn a thousand crores of rupees. Everyone considers money as God. Today money is above everyone, while money has no existence of its own. There are thousands of crores of rupees in one’s cupboard or bank. He cannot do anything. That is why we have written that the reality of the world is money and the reality of money is nothing. When a person has ten thousand crore rupees, the rest will die. Society should be eco-friendly. We want to give this message to society through this film.
Q: How successful do you think you are in sending messages?
Varadraj Swami: See, our job is to bring the reality of society to the audience. The audience has always respected a good movie or story. We believe that this film will inspire the audience as well as entertain. We will get love and respect from the audience.
Q: Kabaad seems very concise budget film but works like a big budget. Like kam main bam.
Varadraj Swami: See, first of all i go through the budget of the producer and work out how will i make the film in this budget. Then I start the film. I used to make a quality film but under the given budget. And one more thing I always keep in mind a recovery of the film since my producer‘s second film depend on my first film ‘s recovery.
Q: Looking at the trailer, it seems that you have shot the entire film in Mumbai?
Varadraj Swami: Ten percent have been shot outdoor, the rest is shot in Jogeshwari, Malad, Velankanni and Marine Drive. A lot of it has been shot by guerrillas. I have shot and roamed all over Mumbai.
Q: You were shooting outdoor with such a big artist without any security. Weren’t you afraid?
Varadraj Swami: Not at all, if you become devoted to only that work, then your confidence increases so much that whatever happens in your mind, you do that and it happens because then there is no trick in your mind. Vivaan and we were so engrossed in this film that we did not realize for a second that there was any problem.
Q: Watching the trailer, one is a rag picker’s look and the other is completely different from it. There are two looks in the film. How did you shoot it?
Varadraj Swami: This is the process of cinema making. Every director has his thinking. You have a different perspective of things. We had divided the film into two parts. First, we shot the first look, then the second one.
