Bison director Mari Selvaraj: If you are waging a war using an artform, you need patience
Bison director Mari Selvaraj emphasises the importance of storytelling from his roots, highlighting the symbolic role of animals in his films, his early days and finding the Bison head
Last Updated: 10.51 AM, Oct 16, 2025
It has been three decades since director Mari Selvaraj, who hails from the southern district of Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu, left his native to make a career in films. Now, four films old and waiting for his fifth film, Bison, to release in a few days, the filmmaker says how he still sees fear and pain looking back at his native place.
“Every time I go back, there is a fear and pain of how the place has not changed one bit. I wanted to make a film that will speak to all the youngsters there, and that is when Manathi Ganesan’s story came,” says Mari Selvaraj as he goes on to mention how Ganesan is brother-like to him and one of the greatest kabaddi players.
Bison director Mari Selvaraj Interview
“So, when I wanted to do a story about my land, my people and discuss the issues, I took the sports element from him, and combined it with my focus to converse with youngsters there. That’s how Bison came up, a sports and lifestyle drama.”
Mari Selvaraj recalls playing kabbadi ever since he began roaming the streets of his village all by himself. Calling it a crucial part of his life, Mari says, “I wanted to do a story around it and had been waiting for some time. Manathi Ganesan, one of the kabaddi players, is like my brother, and is considered one of the heroes in that sport.”
Connecting his films so far made, Mari Selvaraj had said how Karnan (from Karnan) stopping the bus made Pariyan (from Pariyerum Perumal) go to college, and how years later Maamannan was formed, while Vaazhai traces back to his childhood. In this timeline, Mari Selvaraj says Bison too has its own, but it is for people to decipher. “A lot of people ask me why I keep doing stories from my native. There are a lot of people living there and many issues are there. Since I am the only one who has come out, I have the need to tell those stories. It is wrong for people to ask me why I keep doing stories of my land only. There is no dearth of films made in other genres, so I am here to make stories that affect me as sequels.”
The filmmaker is someone who came running to Chennai to pursue his dreams, and before joining director Ram, Mari Selvaraj had done many odd jobs. “But one night, when I was working as an office boy with Ram sir, we had this conversation about where and who I am, and I shared my story. I was ashamed of my stories until then, and Ram sir had asked me to tell these stories. He asked me to join as an AD and constantly asked me to make a film, only then people will listen to what I have to say,” Mari Selvaraj recalls.
No actors will take it up: Mari Selvaraj on Dhruv Vikram
With Bison, Mari Selvaraj wholeheartedly wants it to be Dhruv Vikram’s win. “I want to see how the audience will accept him. No actors will take it up, because it’s a two-year travel, heavy training process and the shooting is very tough,” he adds.
In all his films, Mari Selvaraj has used animals as poetic metaphors. Be it Karuppi, the dog from Pariyerum Perumal, or Dhanush’s Karnan freeing the donkey and even Maamannan, an MLA from a pig-rearing community, animals have played a major role in his films. In that order, Bison becomes the front face of the film. Asked about this, Mari Selvaraj says, “I decided when I started this project that it would be a story about people who worship this deity called Kaalamaadan. When I was scouting for locations, I had gone to a school and I found a head of Bison, a symbol which has now become a recurring visual in the film. I was excited upon seeing it, and I want to incorporate it into the film. It has got a certain emotion, but I never knew I found it.” Mari Selvaraj says that it is always upon chance that a visual, prop, or cue comes into the project, something like a magic that is waiting to happen when they are on the ground to make a film.
The filmmaker, who first writes all his films as novels, says, “I write everything that comes to me. If that has to be made into a film, it might go for about 10 hours too. But once I go to sets, I take what I want. My head will have the complete breakdown and back story of every little aspect, but when I take it to my team, I let them know what is needed for them. These details help me to strengthen what I want to tell and make.”
For Mari Selvaraj, his films are beyond theatrical runs. “A film might make collections and help the producers. But it is a creation that will remain until time lasts. Generations might come and go, but see the film. They might not know who is Mari Selvaraj, but they will know what I said. Films become part of society, and if those films are helping the generation to learn something, that is what I want.”
He concludes by saying, “If you need wage a war with an artform, you need patience. Fields like literature, cinema and arts, require high amount of patience if you are choosing to converse with the audience using these forms.”
FAQs
Q. What is Dhruv Vikram's next movie?
A. Dhruv Vikram's next movie is Bison set to release on October 17.
Q. Is the Bison movie based on a true story?
A. Bison is a fictional movie said to be inspired by real events.
Q. What is Mari Selvaraj's next movie?
A. Mari Selvaraj's next directorial is Bison.
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