National award winning Editor Praveen KL is the busiest man in Kollywood. Half of the total number of movies made in Tamil comes after passing his table. Last week`s big release Idhu Namma Allu`, Marudhu` before that and the biggest of them all is Superstar Rajinikanth`s upcoming gangster flick Kabali` directed by Ranjith. Amoid praises poured on him as the film`s one minute teaser cut by him as surpassed 20 million hits, he shares a lot of interesting details on the teaser as well as the film Kabali` in this special Red Carpet Interview for Indiaglitz:
Tell us about Kabali` and this particular awesomely cut teaser?

The entire industry was quite surprised when Rajini sir picked up Ranjith to do his next film. From day one we knew we had a huge responsibilty in terms of how to cater to his fans and also how to project the film overall to the audience itself. So every move we tried to make in particular for Kabali` was very calculated. When I first saw the rushes of the film when they came back from Malaysia, I saw this particular dialogue (the lenghty one where the Superstar immitates Nambiar) that appears in the teaser, I knew that was supposed to be in the teaser. Because it speaks a lot of things. It talks about the story of Kabali himself, the character and also talks about Rajini sir, like how he is back with a bang after so many years. I wanted that to be the teaser dialoge. Ranjith was also like yes lets go with it`.

Have you used any gimmicks for editing Kabali` film?

Kabali` is a very emotional film. It is about the journey of a man who has come back to his life after 25 years which he has lost. This film needed a simple and straight forward approach without any gimmick; without anything that would distract the audience from his travel. So we did it in a neat and easy phased manner where it just cuts to simple shots. We just stuck to the old basics.

Tell us about villains in the film?

The villains are the most difficult people in the script to deal with, for the character of Rajinikanth himself. They are equally powerful army which is up and against Kabali. This character has come out without any support whatsoever after 20-25 years from jail and he has to go against a group of gangs. So the villain`s gang is called 43 O`. So how Kabali manages to collapse the empire and takes them on single handedly has been narratted in quite an interesting way in the film. And also this Winston Chao, the guy who plays the main villain he is from Taiwan and he has done quite well over there. Action scenes have been done very well.

Producer Thanu was telling that there are much bigger scenes in the film than those coming in the teaser. This film will have a bigger impact. Whats you comment on that?

Yes, we all beleive in that. We get to see Rajini sir as how he was years ago like Mullum Malarum` days. The actor in Rajini sir…! There is also a younger version of Rajini sir. That`s an exciting episode in the film as well. And we were very particular that this film is not just about his style and charisma but its also about the actor in him. That`s how the script was written across and that`s how it has been shot. Ranjith was very particular that whatever mannerism or style or impact the previous films of Rajini sir have created among the audience, this one he wanted to be little different from that. That`s how it has been conceived and that`s how it has been shot.

So you are saying Ranjith film impressed you?

Yes. Ranjith is one honest filmmaker who believes in the script than anyone else.

And it worked for him in Madras` and Attakathi`. Here also you feel script is slightly above the Superstar or what it is?

See it is a script that we would have never imagined Rajini sir would have done, three or four years ago. Rajini sir has also been constantly trying to evolve himself as an actor. He wants to do challenging roles. He wants to do better roles than what he has done before. So I guess that`s the reason why he handpicked Ranjith`s script. And he saw himself in this script. That`s the best part.

So you say there is a new Rajinikanth in this movie?

Of course. Yes.

What about the commercial elements that a fan expects from a Rajinikanth movie?

Yes. You will have the whole commercial elements of what you have seen in other Rajini sir films. But it has also been treated in a very emotional way because it is also his personal point of view about what life is all about. Even that has been incorporated into the script itself. And that`s the beauty part of it.

There is an episode in the film where you see the growth of the don Kabali. Whatever scenes we have seen, whatever I`ve cut and whatever the Editing team have seen,everyone have been raving about that. Because that way you get to see the real man, like how he has evolved from a commoner to what he has become now.

Going by the teaser we had to think Rahika Apte is there only for a half scene in the film?

(Laughs) No she does come in the film quite a bit. But for the teaser we wanted it to focus only on the Superstar. So that was the idea.

The packaging has phenomenally pleased the audience. These scenes (in the teaser) happen in the beginning of the film or?

Yes. I mean whatever you seen in the teaser are those that establish his character and his identity within the film itself. That tells you what he`s going to do for the next couple of hours in the film. Kind of get to know the guy who he is and what he is all about.

What would be the length of the film?

The CG hasn`t come in yet. Once the CG comes only, the final length has to be locked. CG portions do play a major part in the running time.

But we heard you would like to keep it under two hours and 30 minutes?

Yes definitely that`s the idea.

In the teaser you avoided any song and dance. Why?

See it was all about that dialogue in the trailer. We knew the dialogue would just satisfy everything. We didn`t need anything apart from the dialogue, other than to establish the primary character of the film. We didn`t want the teaser to be a four punch, two song` saga. This is the only film you could make statements by doing something like this.