Japan is director Raju Murugan’s biggest film till date. For a filmmaker who prefers soft, socially-relevant subjects such as Cuckoo and Joker, his upcoming Deepavali release, Japan, is much bigger in scale.
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He agrees. “I have always been comfortable with people who share a similar mindset. In a way, my films are almost like independent efforts,” he says.
With Japan, Raju has tried to come out of that comfort zone. “The size, shooting process and budget of Japan were all new to me. It was a learning process, but a happy, enjoyable one because everyone understood the storyline and had a lot of respect for me.”
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Raju, whose 2016 flick Joker bagged a National Award, worked on this script during the pandemic. “When I wrote this story, I wanted to have a mass approach to it. The makers (Dream Warrior Pictures) too backed me, and felt that such an approach would reach a larger audience.”
Karthi in a still from ‘Japan’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Japan stars Karthi as an expert thief who can break into any place he wants, and is among the most-wanted criminals in four States. It is also the actor’s 25th film, and he plays, as promotional material suggests, a ‘pan-India thief’. “Things that were considered dangerous earlier are commonplace today. Japan is a representative of this world, of today’s society. He is a thief, but the question he poses is: is there anyone in today’s society who can be separately considered a thief?”
It was Karthi who pushed the project at every stage, adds Raju. “I have heard from friends in the industry how he (Karthi) asks a lot of questions about the scripts he listens to. When we came together for Japan, I realised why; he delves deep into the project, creating new perspectives even for its maker. He always remains committed to the soul of the project. He is not someone who switches off after shoot; he often calls up asking about the scenes canned earlier in the day. We had a great rapport, being curious about our protagonists and learning more about the craft and production.”
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Raju Murugan’s protagonists have all been interesting characters, people who are seldom featured in mainstream cinema. His Cuckoo (2014) featured a visually-impaired hero, for which he got his lead actor (Dinesh) to follow Bilal, a visually-challenged student at Loyola College. For Joker, he got his lead actor (Guru Somasundaram) to take references from poet Bharati. “He (Bharati) was called a madman by many, because he did not adhere to societal norms back then,” says Raju.
Karthi in a still from Tamil film ‘Japan’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
His current protagonist, Japan, is an unpredictable character too. “Karthi was determined to not show any shades from his previous films. So, we went for colourful costumes and an offbeat hairstyle. He has also changed his voice for this project, which has worked out well and goes with the character.”
Raju Murugan, who also helmed the Lalagunda Bommaigal episode in Prime Video’s Modern Love Chennai, is looking forward to the feedback for Japan before moving on to his next. “Cinema is pretty much the same irrespective of its size; the only difference is in the execution and the coming together of many technicians. I have never had big dreams with respect to filmmaking or making money. I do not have a dream project in mind. All I want is to make films honestly, enjoy the artform and keep audiences happy.”