Stephen team Gomathi Shankar and Mithun Balaji on their serial-killer saga: Ours isn’t a whodunit, it’s a whydunit | EXCLUSIVE

There is dearth to serial killer stories in Tamil cinema. Since time in memorial, films on serial killers, psychopaths, and murderers have found a special place of interest among audience. But when debutants Gomathi Shankar and Mithun Balaji come together to tell the tale of one such killer with their psychological thriller drama Stephen, the question ‘what is special about this killer’ inadvertently pops up.

Stephen team interview:

Mithun Balaji who started out as short film maker, and helmed Stephen says, “The USP that we see for our film is that when mostly all the films are whodunit, here it is whydunit.” Actor Gomathi Shankar, who has co-written and starred in the lead role, adds, “We show who is the serial killer at the very beginning and rest of the story, we explore why and the reasons behind his behaviour. It also shows from the mindset of a serial killer and that is the starting point, more like a character study.”

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Having both co-written and starring in and as Stephen, Gomathi Shankar, said, “The way we work is usually bouncing off each other’s ideas. We fight it, and we come to a conclusion only when it works for both of us.” He also reveals that the duo had made a short film based on Stephen’s character (which is now taken down). “It had got lot of traction at short film festivals and that gave us some push. It made us to a pilot with little more depth, for about 30 minutes. Later, we thought of doing it like a feature. We went through a lot of docu-fictions, interviews on serial killers like Edmund Kemper, Ted Bundy and Jerry Brudos. Not that we were finding material to lean on completely, but help us figure out who Stephen will be, given we obviously cannot draw out of personal experiences,” Gomathi says.

Gomathi Shankar mentions that he never knew that he would be playing the lead role as well. While they wrote the film true to the story, it was Mithun’s decision to cast Gomathi Shankar in the titular role. “It really helped to approach Stephen from the writing process rather than stage zero. There was better understanding.”

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Stephen releases on Netflix directly

Stephen is a direct-to-OTT film which will stream on Netflix. However, that was not the initial plan says Mithun, who says that it was first meant for theatres. “We had adapted the visual and sound mixing for theatres. But we had sent out the trailer to many outlets, including Netflix who had showed interest. They also considered it as original and we felt it surreal to have the opportunity to have it released in several languages. However, even during the pre-production we had aimed at shooting for Netflix aesthetics even though we did not it will end up here actually.”

Both Gomathi Shankar and Mithun say that they don’t find it different in terms of performance and production, for a theatrical film and OTT release. In fact, they say, “I think watching Stephen on Netflix at home, we feel the thoughts of a serial killer will linger even after watching. There will be an eerie feeling, which might be beneficial for a film like this.”

Being new talents, they say that OTT space is a definite avenue through which stories can be told, while theatres have also got their own audience. “With Stephen, we believe that this story will show a different perspective, and not from the police. I hope it works. It is also up to the viewer to feel how they go about it.”

After travelling with Stephen for almost three years, Gomathi Shankar anker calls it a ‘pure magic’ that he became a lead actor, something he never thought would happen at this scale. “It will be close to my heart, but as a film, we hope that viewers find it refreshing and confident that they will know that we brought something new to the table,” he adds.

Meanwhile, Mithun clarifies that Stephen is not just about bloodshed and violence, and there is more to the film. “We have given our best, and hope that audience like it. With no support in industry, and after some practical knowledge by doing some short films, we worked towards our passion. Stephen is a product of that, and we hope all of you like it,” he concludes.