Has filmmaking changed? Anyone can now make a film using a mobile phone…

There’s both good and bad in this. The good is that filmmaking has been democratised and demystified. Anyone can do it. But it has also become trivial. Reel-makers are also considered filmmakers. Painful, but that’s the reality.

You write your own script and employ scriptwriters too. What’s the difference?

A scriptwriter is another technician who contributes to the film. When a cinematographer is hired, it’s the director’s vision that gets executed. The same happens when a writer is employed. There is a given theme, and you employ a writer to write dialogues et al. It’s basically the director’s vision in every word. Script gets subsumed in a film. The writer is not the creator. I feel, if possible, the director should write the script.

Music plays a big role in your films…

Yes… when music is integrated into the movie, as a director, it’s orgasmic for me. Background music takes the visuals to another dimension. Music is a director’s statement, a cue on how you experience that moment. For me, songs are a necessary evil. I’m always fascinated by the experience created by merging sound with a visual.

Is there any actor you wish to work with?

I wish I could have worked with Thilakan. He is one actor with whom I wanted to work, and I had plans for it. But it didn’t work out.

Shyamaprasad is also an actor now. Do you enjoy the experience?

Well, sometimes yes, sometimes not. As a director, you are in control of everything happening on the set and you are making the decisions. For an actor, there is uncertainty. Sometimes, some directors don’t give even basic instructions. They assume that you know. Every actor, even Mohanlal and Mammootty, is nervous in front of the camera. Actors seek approval and appreciation from the director. I realised what actors seek from a director when I started acting. It made me a better director.

Voices are rising from within against many issues in the film industry. Some say it is unsafe and has many internal issues. Some believe legislation is the final solution…

A film-set is a place where men and women from different parts come and work together for a prolonged period; it is therefore a combustive environment. It would have been better if the issues were resolved within the association amicably before legal interference.

Kerala as a state and Malayalis as a community are vocal about things. Thus, it (Hema Committee report) became a much-discussed event. A collective conscientiousness and sensitisation are required. As a society, we need to learn to respect others’ space and privacy. Celebrities need to be extra-careful, as many look up to them. Laws are not lasting solutions