Every director who has worked with Mohanlal finds it hard to stop admiring him. From the legendary Padmarajan to Mani Ratnam, Mohanlal is a director’s delight. Same goes for Nelson who is ecstatic about our Malayalam superstar after directing him in ‘Jailer’. In an interview with a YouTube channel, Nelson talked at length about The Jailer, scenes he could have improved and more.
An unforgettable experience with superstars
About Mohanlal: Mohanlal is a natural actor. While filming a scene with him, he suddenly called a cut. We were clueless. Then he asked us if it was an actual claim. When I replied in the affirmative, Lal said, sir, that he thought it was a rehearsal. We really couldn’t tell if he was playing or rehearsing. How natural he was. Everyone who watched him at that point said he was a brilliant actor. Everyone knows that he is an outstanding actor. It was a great experience to direct him. You just need to casually instruct him. And he would deliver more than we asked for. Lal sir is a simple kind person. He is always happy and energetic and spreads this positivity to those around him. Lal sir has the uncanny ability to keep everyone comfortable on the set.
About Jackie Shroff: He’s an actor who will do anything you tell him to do. He likes to observe the surroundings. He loves nature. Jackie sir is very straightforward and treats everyone equally. I always felt he was very spiritual.
About Shiva Rajkumar: I have noticed that some of our greatest actors are extremely humble. You can see this in Rajni sir, Lal sir, Shiva Rajkumar sir and Jackie sir. They make others extremely comfortable. They would do exactly what we tell them. And don’t be afraid to ask doubts. They want clarity about everything they do.
The scene he wanted to watch with the audience
The interval, that scene where Rajni cuts the head of a villain and the climax. I wanted to watch all these scenes with the audience.
Scenes he wished he had done better
I’m not a movie critic. I always look at it from the audience’s point of view. My only concern would be whether it entertains them. Considering that some scenes are not up to par. This is because most of the scenes are extremely funny. So an ordinary scene can look a little strange in such a setting. But this will not affect the overall enjoyment of the film. Because this scene required such a pace.
Superstars with Rajini
When I wrote the scenes with the superstars, I was confident that they would work. We have placed them between the movie and the climax. Although they come for a short time, the impact is strong. I tried to point the camera at them like I did with Rajini sir.
Dialogues that mean Rajini
I can’t say that. I wrote these dialogues for the character. The character in “Dungeoner” is calm. But he had a strong past. Since his character was strong, I had to make sure that the dialogues were also strong. And Rajini sir brought them up on the screen. The truth is that I have not written anything that has Rajni sir in mind.
The cigar at the climax
We had already decided that the cigar would be there at the climax. Because this is the most pivotal scene in the movie. Sir Mohanlal and Sir Shiva Rajkumar come in this scene but then Rajini Sir has to be the king. So we decided that his most iconic act with a cigar should be included in this scene. And I don’t think anyone can do it better than him. Rajini sir said that if the script calls for such a scene, we can do it. When we put that scene in, it fell into place perfectly.
We did a wide shot and a close up of Rajini lighting the cigar. He was the one who lit the cigar and smoked it. There were no graphics included. We thought that if we mixed both shots it might look staged, so we just used the wide shot. Rajini sir said if we throw a matchbox match he will try to catch it. This shot was good in the second doubles. Honestly, it was overwhelming to see that moment in person. Even though I tried not to be a fan on set, sometimes I couldn’t help but admire him and praise his performance. And he would just thank me!