13: "Kamal Haasan has a tremendous experience of cinematic life" - Sab John | Guna | Kamal Haasan - a podcast by Film Companion

John Edathattil (credited, sometimes, as Sab John) is the screenwriter of Guna (1991). In this video, he talks about writing a script based on the Sri Lankan civil war for Kamal Haasan, and then writing Guna when that project was dropped. He speaks about writing through a personal crisis, and the various aspects of the character of Guna (the religious nature, the 'thaali', his hatred for his face). He speaks of how Kamal improved the "Pentathol" scene with his acting, and also his inputs to the screenplay. He speaks of how Ilayaraja heightened the screenplay with his magnificent score (and that "letter song"). He speaks of how visuals (like the cave) enhance a screenplay, how to make a 'unique' script more mainstream, and whether screenwriting can be taught. He names recent films he liked for their screenplay (Pizza, Soodhu Kavvum, Maanagaram, Vikram Vedha, Dhuruvangal Padhinaaru), and says how much he was affected by Balaji Shaktivel's Kadhal.

Further episodes of Face 2 Face

Further podcasts by Film Companion

Website of Film Companion