Director Nelson Venkatesan Interview: DNA is by far my most entertaining and mainstream film

It might have been two years since the release of director Nelson Venkatesan’s last film Farhana, but the filmmaker says he has been busy ever since then, given he got committed to his next film DNA in a couple of months, and ever since then, Nelson had been working on the Atharvaa and Nimisha Sajayan starrer up and until the release on June 20. 

“So, honestly, I have been extremely busy with writing, shooting and editing DNA. There are no complaints from my side because this is all I want to do. Right after Farhana’s release and jumping on to my next film and writing, made me at a happy space,” says Nelson as he chats with OTTplay a few days before DNA’s release.

DNA director Nelson Venkatesan Interview:

After making Oru Naal Koothu, Monster and Farhana, Nelson terms DNA as his most mainstream film ever. “I make films so that it reaches everyone, and I made every film of mine so far with the notion of it being mainstream. I may not have control of size of the film,” he adds, as we ask him what is the definition of mainstream.

“There is a popular value or opinion and as closer your film is it to that, it is that mainstream. When the story aligns as much as with your individual identity, which is really good and what most of the filmmakers are trying to achieve. We want to tell stories which comes from my ideas and aligns with the popular notion too,” Nelson explains while adding that he is not here to make just crores of money, but just want large sections of people watch his movies.

Also read: DNA 2025: Release date, trailer, plot, cast and crew, OTT partner; Everything you need to know about Atharvaa and Nimisha Sajayan’s film

Speaking about DNA, Nelson says that the characters are new and special which will stand out from rest of his filmography. “Characters form emotions in the film and they are directly proportional. The emotional grip that a screenplay has, should run through me and with me for the film. It is the measuring aspect for different facets, be it sound design to costumes. They should be the extension of the characters.”

Nelson says that the fulcrum of his writing and how he looks at women, beyond just for DNA, comes from the upbringing he has had. Been raised by a single mother, and the journey that went through, the filmmaker adds that the life events he had witnessed in his growing years, has shaped him and his thought process, which leak into his writing and approach towards looking at people.

Also read: DNA movie review: Nimisha Sajayan and Atharvaa drive a twisted helix of emotion, grittiness and crime in Nelson Venkatesan’s thriller 

Nelson Venkatesan talks about casting for DNA

The filmmaker comes from a strong understanding that casting for a film can break or make it. On roping in Atharvaa and Nimisha, a combination that cinema has not witnessed before, Nelson says 50-60% is casting. “My approach towards casting is physically how they look to how I perceived my characters. I cast people closer to how I envisioned my characters and I would love to work with good actors. That’s how Atharvaa and Nimisha came onboard. Their characters go through complex relationships, and it is the synergy that keeps evolving. As you shoot the film for months, it is a sacred place where the story grows. As director, I have to put across these together, and the synergy between the actors is very important and in sync with what I have written.” Nelson stresses that he looks for an unconventional approach in casting and he does not want to fall into cliches, but there is no compromise on quality of performance.

DNA also brushes upon a character trait of a mental illness that Nimisha’s character has in the film. “Yes, there is a small track, but it is not something big in the film which is why I am not very keen on it. I see her as any other normal girl and it is just one of the colours we have. Which is why I do not dive into it. Nimisha’s character in the film is very much any another girl and that is how I have treated the character.”

As Nelson reiterates that DNA is his loudest and entertaining film he has ever made, the director brims with confidence that has come with the patience and hard work from the last two years. The director wraps up the conversation by saying that he is always writing, and being a screenwriter fundamentally, Nelson promises to come up with something more interesting and honest for his next.