EXCLUSIVE: Karthik Subbaraj opens up on Mahaan success, casting Dhruv and Vikram, Ram Charan's RC15 & more

Recently, in an exclusive with Pinkvilla, Karthik took a deep dive into the writing and making of Mahaan, film's success, casting Dhruv and Vikram together and more.

Khushboo Ratda
Written by Khushboo Ratda , Journalist
Updated on Feb 16, 2022 | 09:55 PM IST | 291.5K
Karthik Subbaraj opens up on Mahaan
EXCLUSIVE: Karthik Subbaraj opens up on Mahaan success, casting Dhruv and Vikram, Ram Charan's RC15 & more

Karthik Subbaraj, the gen-next filmmaker is one of the promising directors in Tamil Cinema. He has achieved a strong fanbase in the Northern belt as well after the terrific success of his gangster drama Jigarthanda. Since then, there has been no looking back. Recently, in an exclusive with Pinkvilla, Karthik took a deep dive into the writing and making of Mahaan, film's success, casting Dhruv and Vikram together as father-son and writing story for Ram Charan's RC15. 

Expressing happiness on the success of his latest outing Mahaan, Karthik said, "We as a team are very happy with the way film has been received so far. I was really very curious and excited to know how the film will be received but yes, it is positive and we are happy."

Read below:

You are known for writing complex screenplays. For eg. Jigarthanda and Iraivi. Can you elaborate on the process of layering of characters? 

I enjoy the process of writing and it is very personal. Only I'm involved in that and put a lot of time into a character. I also love to write about the inner complexities of the character. It is not just the scenes but more than just complex characters and screenplays. That part is more interesting for me. Most of my characters will be in the grey shade and Mahaan is completely about it. All the characters are shown in the grey shade and have their own positives and negatives, fighting with their own inner emotions. That's how the writing process is. 

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If we see in Mahaan, every character has been placed well and gets its own space to perform...

If we talk about Mahaan, it's a very simple story and the protagonist struggles to balance his friendship, relationship with his son. Bobby's character also has a lot of changeovers in the film. His role takes a deep turn who later on gets self-realisation but this character, Mahaan is actually travelling in the other way. The contradiction between the 2 characters is actually the highlight. The conflict between the father and son is the crux of the story. 

You got father-son Vikram and Dhruv for their first onscreen appearance. How did you go about the casting for other characters as well?

I had an idea about doing a father-son story for a very long time but I didn't actually develop it because I was looking out for the right casting. Suddenly when I got the opportunity to narrate the script to Vikram sir, I thought this idea will perfectly work because Dhruv had also completed his first film. He is also a good actor and I felt it was a perfect story for them.  Vikram and Dhruv came onboard lately, but casting for other characters was very crucial. I wanted very good performers like Bobby, Sananth, Vettai, and others...every character has a good space to perform. We were very keen about casting each character and did a lot of auditions for Rocky's role in the film. Bobby came onboard very last because we were thinking about characters but later I thought of him and he has done a great job. I always want the artist to perform roles that they haven't before and even Simran ma'am's character is not a heroine kind of character but more than it. Her screen time is less but her role is crucial. 

You had to help Dhruv understand the technicalities?

After the script reading, we had a lot of discussions, enacted the scenes and gave some inputs. From day one after I narrated the idea, he was into the character. He did not take efforts only physically but there was also a lot of thought process. He would be thinking only about his character and he has got this a very good quality as an actor. he is in the right space and right track. 

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Though one cannot take away the experience of watching the movies in the cinema halls, what's your take on the future of OTT?

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, I think OTT gave us the content that we had not seen but after it, it made its presence and is a huge blessing for the cinema industry as a whole because during coronas the theatres were shut and that phase was very crucial. I think theatres and OTTs should go in a parallel way and should co-exist. it is actually a great thing for filmmakers, actors, to have both platforms. 

Was Mahaan always planned for the OTT release?

Mahaan, when it started we planned it as a theatrical release but after the second wave, again theatres got shut. There was a lot of thought process that went behind to decide from the producer's side to release on Amazon Prime Video. 

Shankar sir asked if I have any story and I had one that I thought he would like.

Karthik Subbaraj on writing RC15 story

As we know, you have penned the story of Ram Charan's RC 15. If you can please elaborate on that.

Yes, it's my story. So Shankar sir asked if I have any story and I had one that I thought he would like. So I gave him one, he liked it and he is doing it now. 

Lastly, we all know how you managed to make Jigarthanda. You also introduced a 7.1 sound system with Pizza. How do you look at your journey from then to now? 

It has been a very great journey and I have no regrets. Every film is very challenging than the previous one for me and that's a part of the filmmaking career. There are so many challenges to face every day which is a part of my job and I love it. I'm enjoying every moment of it. 

ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE: Dhruv Vikram on working with dad in Mahaan: ‘I knew it was going to be nerve-wracking’

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Check out Dhruv Vikram's exclusive interview on Mahaan:


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About The Author

A post-graduate in journalism and an alumna of KC College, Khushboo, a Mumbai-based writer has a keen interest in

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Credits: Pinkvilla
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