Max director Vijay Kartikeyaa: ‘Rajinikanth watched the Kiccha Sudeep film and…’

Vijay Kartikeyaa, who made his debut as director with the Kiccha Sudeep-led Max, is quite media shy, rarely putting himself in the spotlight prior to or after the film’s release. In one of his few media interactions, Vijay spoke to Cineulagam recently, addressing the success of his debut feature, which has come 20 years after he got into the industry as an associate to filmmakers like Perarasu, Parthiban, etc.

Also read: Max movie review: Kiccha Sudeep is at his A-game in maximum mass one-man show 

The success of Max and the appreciation he has been getting from Kannada audiences has been extremely heartening, said Vijay, who got to work with Sudeep based on producer Kalaippuli S Thanu’s suggestion. “Working in another language and being accepted and appreciated there is quite something and I am enjoying this success. Thanu sir, and then Sudeep sir are the reason that I have been able to achieve this,” said the filmmaker, who has been getting calls from different quarters about the effective presentation of the story and a superstar like Sudeep on the big screen.

Max director Vijay Kartikeyaa: Rajinikanth spoke to me for 6-7 minutes

An unexpected appreciation came on December 31, when Thanu called Vijay and told him that Rajinikanth would like to speak to him. “Rajini sir spoke to me for 6-7 minutes and was very happy with the film,” said Vijay, happy that his struggle and consistent fight to stay relevant in the industry has finally become fruitful.

Max is a story that Vijay registered in the writers’ association in 2022, but had then put on the backburner to focus on another subject. When he was then introduced to Thanu and got to narrate a story, he chose to tell the one that eventually became Max. “Thanu sir liked the story and since he had a commitment with Sudeep sir, he suggested that I speak to him to take the film forward. He also okayed it immediately,” said Vijay.

But did the filmmaker have a choice in terms of the casting? “See, Thanu sir has been a producer for 4 decades and has a certain sense of what will work and what will not. He did not ask me if I had any suggestions, as my plan was to actually make the film in Telugu. Thanu sir was to do a film with Vijay Sethupathi, but since the actor was busy on another project, and since the subject seemed more apt for Sudeep sir, he suggested the latter,” explained Vijay.

Also read: Max OTT release: Netizens mind blown by Kichcha Sudeepa’s film, call it ‘far superior than Pushpa 2’ 

Once Sudeep okayed the subject, there were very few changes that were made to the script in keeping with the actor’s onscreen mass hero image. “For instance, we added a major action block in the first half, with Pramod Shetty and then in the second, the fight where he is also dancing. That was only meant to be a straight-forward action sequence, which was then changed. Besides that, there were a few tweaks that were made for an emotional connect, but otherwise, the final product is not very different from what I narrated,” added the filmmaker.