Vaibhav who plays a restrained role in the film, says, “A lot of actors do homework but I visualise my character only after I get the scene paper.” Ilango adds, “I wanted the comedy to be subtle and he easily got into the groove. For me, Vaibhav ranks among the top comedians in Tamil cinema.” Tentigo created history as the first Sri Lankan film to be remade in any part of the world. Interestingly, apart from Tamil, the funeral drama is also being made in Hindi, English, Italian, and Spanish. “In Italian, the story revolves around a father and two sisters. Certain themes are universally relevant,” he notes ecstatically. On the film’s phenomenal reception overseas, the director says, “Getting into a film festival is difficult, especially in the competition section. Out of 15,000 films, only 300 progressed to the award section. In that way, we are proud that our film won the special jury award at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, which provided a better reach for our film.”

Ilango Ram also shares his love for ’80s films and how they inspire his work. “I love watching 80s classics like Aan paavam and Indru poi naalai vaa. I relate to stories that feel like they were made in our house or our neighbourhood. Be it Tentigo or my previous short Mouna vizhiththuligal which is based on a father and his visually impaired daughter spending their days within the walls of a bunker during the Sri Lankan Civil War, or my upcoming film Rabbit Holeevery film is realistically made. Many are unaware of the Indian-origin community in Sri Lanka. Rabbit Hole will be based on that,” he says. Just like how Tentigo was for Ilango, Meyaadha maan remains a turning point for Vaibhav in his career and the actor reveals that he has become selective with his choice of films. “Director Ganesh K Babu once pitched a horror film to me. After turning it down, I asked why he didn’t choose me for Dada. He said, ‘We can’t see you crying in front of the screen. If you make a film, we want to laugh and be entertained.’ I was shocked. Can’t I do films focussing on sentiment? Even Simbu asked me to stick to the comedy genre. He told me, ‘There are many actors who are willing to work in thriller films, but there are not many actors who can do comedy. When I am low, I watch your films and I am your fan’,” says Vaibhav, expressing his desire to break away from the image of a comedy actor.