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on 2008/1/6 4:35:48
K Balaje, producer, director and actor was a filmmaker with a Midas touch. His films, mostly remakes like Thee and Billa, were big box office grossers. His production house was a prestigious one which had produced films with the likes of Rajnikanth and Kamal Haasan.
Out of action for about 17 years, the banner has since been revived by his son Suresh Balaje, under his father�s guidance. Their re-entry was with the Tamil remake of the Malayalam classic, Kireedam. Excerpts from a chat with Suresh Balaje.
Reviving your father�s production house, which was one of the biggest in the industry, must have been a big responsibility on your shoulders?
Absolutely, it was a daunting challenge and it has taken me 18 years to take this step. My father�s shoes are huge to fill but with his support and advice I am confident that I will be able to keep the banner flying high.
You began with a remake, Kireedam. Is it because of the banner�s high success rate with remakes? And will your future projects be remakes too?
All the films made under our banner have been remakes and that has been the success formula followed by my father and many other successful veterans of the film industry here, including SS Vasan and LV Prasad. So when I decided to revive the banner, I instinctively turned to a remake and the Malayalam film Kireedam is one of my all-time favourites. I had no second thoughts in restarting our production with a masterpiece from Malayalam in which my brother-in-law Mohanlal had essayed one of his finest performances. Regarding future projects there is no hard and fast rule that they should also be remakes. If I come across a story which I feel is rocking, I would definitely consider producing it.
Your father has done a lot of films with Rajnikanth and Kamal. Remember anything interesting about those times?
When my father made films with these great artistes, I was not actively into cinema as I was still a student. On a personal level, I had the opportunity to interact with them and found them to be extremely professional artistes and wonderful human beings. Two stalwarts of the Indian film industry who are icons in their own ways.
What is the difference between interacting with those stars, and with today�s generation like Ajith and Madhavan?
I don�t see much difference because both Rajni and Kamal were the ones who started the era of professionalism in our industry, and that has more or less become the norm today.
What is your first priority? Hero , director or the script?
I would love to say that script is the king ... but practicality, economics and recoveries would make one believe that hero, script and director would be the priority, in that order.
What is your dad�s influence on your projects? In what ways would you follow him, and in what ways do you differ?
Whatever I know about films and cinema I have learnt from my father. So his influence is total. However, times have changed and we have to adapt ourselves. But I will continue to adhere to a few principles that my father followed � honesty, integrity, punctuality and dedication to my art.
Your brother-in-law Mohanlal is a superstar. A near guarantee for a box-office hit in Malayalam. Any plans of making a film with him?
I have already made a few films in Malayalam with him. With an in-house superstar, the possibility of doing more films with him is always there. But right now there are no plans and when opportunity and the right script come along I will definitely approach him as one professional to another. When you are not producing for your home banner, you�re an online producer for other production houses. What does this mean?
We have a firm, Wide Angle Creations, where my friend George Pius and me are doing line production. We are presently doing a project for Adlabs Films Ltd who were my co- producers for Kireedam. We execute the project right from the casting to post production work. Then we hand over the completed project to them. The producer takes care of the marketing and release hassles. We operate on project fee basis depending on the budget of the film.
Adlabs was your partner for your first venture, Kireedam. Now they are going it alone in Tamil. How does the entry of corporates like Adlabs, UTV etc. with big money and backing augur for the Tamil film industry?
Yes, Adlabs� first foray into South Indian films was with us and we are proud to be the pioneers who paved the way for the corporatisation of our industry. It augurs very well for the future, with professionalism and transparency coming into the industry. This will pave the way for the eventual recognition of our industry as an �industry� thereby bringing in more funding, bigger budgets and better product range.
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