Director Vikarnan Ashok: The story of Mask was written around villain and the hero’s role was born naturally | Exclusive

Director Vikarnan Ashok's debut film, Mask, stars Andrea Jeremiah as the antagonist and Kavin as the protagonist. The film is set to release on November 21

Vikarnan Ashok; Mask

The starting point for director Vikarnan Ashok for his debut film Mask was money and happiness, the theories and philosophy of life that were associated with these two concepts that dominate the lives of humankind.

‘Mask began to happen when I wanted to brew around the idea of money and happiness. The first line in the trailer goes something like who said money cannot buy happiness and if that was said by the rich to keep the poor the same. But there is the middle class, a step below poor, who cannot get angry as and when he wants. He would have EMIs and loans to pay and only suppress his emotions. But what if that person hits back, is what Mask,” Vikarnan says to OTTplay.

Mask director Vikarnan Ashok interview

The director, who is adding the last-minute touches to the film, says creativity is an evolving process. “Until the day of release, we try to make it better and come up with something new. Putting things in a different place, arranging the shot sequence, or the narrative of the story. We have to be really open when making a film because it is a collaborative effort. We need to sit around and evolve with the story. Be open about it.”

Starring Andrea Jeremiah and Kavin in the lead roles, and to be released on November 21 Vikarnan summarises Mask as, “Entertaining, quirky but with a takeaway. It will appeal to all A, B, C centre of audience. If you are entertained, please pass on the message.”

Also read: Hi OTT platform revealed: Where to stream Kavin and Nayanthara’s family entertainer online

In Mask, Andrea plays the antagonist, and while it is not the norm for filmmakers to usually write such roles for women or even then, to only villainise her for showing human emotions, Vikarnan says, “There are many stereotypical villains in our cinema. But I want to write a woman who does not have anything to lose, talks less, and does not need fame. Imagine how dangerous she can become. When she has nothing to lose and reaches to low point, she becomes very dangerous. She is bad not because of her past, but simply because she is that way.”

‘No one is good in Mask’

Essentially, Mask is about the middle-class and the play between them and the rich. “No one is good in the movie, and what if there is little bit of goodness in the bad ones. Or what if bad people are tripped by guilt, they may not turn up good but can probably become humans.”

He also adds that the Mask story was built around the antagonist, and then the protagonist appeared in front of him. “What if I find an antagonist who cannot be defeated, and I need to find the screenplay and scenes to defeat that person. When that character has nothing to lose, there is nothing to affect them. What if the defeat and failure do not affect the villain? That is how the protagonist appeared in front of me,” Vikarnan recalls.

The director admits that he only had two choices for the antagonist, either Tabu or Andrea. “Tabu is my favourite actor, in fact, she is Irfan Khan in a woman's version. With Kavin’s character, it is that character who is considered as bad company. A motor-mouth, flirt, and someone who does not know the danger of the antagonist.”

Sharing the advice, he got from Vetrimaaran who mentored the project, the filmmaker said, “He would ask me to go to the sets and decide the moment through which I want to take the story forward. I need to find the stand point for my story, which helped me a lot.”

With Mask being his first film, Vikarnan says that his major learning was to realise that not everything on paper will be shot. “You need to be really open, and ready to evolve along with the film. A personal opinion, filmmaking is 40% of damage control, 40% of balancing egos, and 20% is making a story. It is a beautiful chaos and I feel privileged to be part of it,” Vikarnan continues.

FAQs

Q. What is the movie of Kavin and Andrea?

A. Kavin and Andrea will star in Mask, an upcoming Tamil film.

Q. What is the highest collection film of Kavin?

A. Kavin's highest grosser so far is Star, which made Rs 25 crore.

Q. What is Kavin's next film?

A. Kavin's next film to release is Mask.

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