“I don’t prefer telling stories that have already been told” – Sangeeth Sivan

There are some filmmakers whom you find impossible to put in a box. Sangeeth Sivan is one of them. The director has made films across multiple genres and is somebody who does not restricts himself to a particular style of storytelling. Sangeeth made his directorial debut with ‘Vyooham’, a Malayalam language film which released in the year 1990. The Mohanlal starrer ‘Yoddha’ (1992) proved to be a breakthrough for him and the director didn’t look back after that.

The Sunny Deol – Sushmita Sen starrer actioner ‘Zor’ (1998) marked his debut in Hindi cinema. Some of his biggest hits in Hindi have been ‘Kya Kool Hain Hum’ (2005) and ‘Apna Sapna Money Money’ (2006). He ventured into the digital space with the taut thriller ‘Bhram’ (2019; Zee5) which was received very well by the audience.

In this interview, the filmmaker reflects upon his journey in cinema spanning more than three decades, landmark films, unreleased ventures, learnings from father and filmmaker Sivan, exploring multiple genres, challenges associated with streaming platforms and more.

Your father was filmmaker Sivan. What kind of role did he play in you becoming a part of the film industry?

My father was very different from most other people you would come across in the film industry. He started out as a photographer, so there were many cameras and books on photography in the house. He never spoke to us about the technicalities of camera. If we asked something, he would answer but he never put any sort of ideas in our head as to what we should be doing in our lives. He strongly believed in one thing. According to him, if you are keen on learning a particular thing, you should go and learn it yourself. You shouldn’t look for guidance and support all the time. He was a huge movie buff, so on a Saturday or a Sunday, he would take us to watch a film. My father’s brother was married to my mother’s sister. They had two children. Thirteen of us would sit in a Volkswagen Beetle and go to the theatre. Watching films helped us tremendously. He never pushed us in any direction. By the time he was in college, he decided to apply for a course in cinematography at the Film and Television Institute of India. Dad was very supportive of his decision. I was always interested in films. My entire training in cinema happened through VHS tapes. I got to watch a lot of international films. I would watch a film, pause and try to understand how a particular cut was made. I used to keep a small book where I would write down what I liked about a particular film. I still have a book similar to that. I was a big fan of Sethumadhavan and would wait for his films to release.

Did you grow up in Kerala?

My family was based in Trivandrum in Kerala. We, however, come from Alleppey. Till the time I finished my college, I was in Trivandrum. I was a cricket and hockey player and represented my state and university on several occasions. Once I finished my college, I was not sure about what I would do next. I appeared for a banking examination for the State Bank of India. I got through that examination and my first posting was in Jaipur. My mother was very happy. She was relieved to know that at least one person in the family is not getting into films (laughs). Around the time I was supposed to join in Jaipur, my dad got a chance to shoot a film in Arunachal Pradesh. It was a union territory then. This project was for the Vivekananda Group. They had some fourteen schools in Arunachal Pradesh. Santosh was in the first year of his cinematography course in FTII by then. We had some equipment at home. Santosh and I would help dad with his documentary work. When Santosh came home during this time, he told me, “Chetta, what are you doing? You will be doing a 9 – 5 job? Come, let’s go to Arunachal Pradesh.” I thought about it for 2- 3 days and finally, decided to not take up State Bank of India job. My mother was heartbroken when she got to know about my decision to let go of this job. Santosh and I started helping dad from a very young age. I used to handle the post-production work. During our school days, we used to walk for an hour every day to school every day. Then, we got a cycle after a few years. After a couple of years, we got a bike. My dad started out as a darkroom worker. After a while, he started working as a freelance photographer. Then, he did stills for a film called ‘Chemni’. He came into contact with these guys and he felt the urge to make films himself. He set up a small studio and started growing from there.

Did you have exposure to Hindi films during your childhood?

Yes, I used to watch a lot of Hindi films as a child. I was a big fan of Amitabh Bachchan. Sanjeev Kumar was another favourite. I was a huge admirer of filmmakers like Basu Chatterjee and Hrishikesh Mukherjee.

One of your first professional assignments was working as an executive producer on the Aditya Bhattacharya directed ‘Raakh’ (1990). It was one of the first released films of Aamir Khan.

Dad had some connections in the Hindi film industry. Basu Bhattacharya was a very close friend of his. Whenever Basu da would come to Trivandrum, he would stay in our place. When I would go to Mumbai, I would stay with his family in his Carter Road house. He was like a father-figure to us. One day, Basu da said that his son Aditya was planning to make a film called ‘Raakh’ and asked us whether we could help him on this project. At that time, I was doing a lot of post-production work and knew Prasad Studios very well. I had a very good relationship with Prasad Studios. I spoke to them about this film. At that time, Aksa had come with a stock and it was also very high-speed. Santosh took a test and he was very happy with the results. It was Santosh’s first film in Hindi. Seven of us had come down to Mumbai with a camera and backlight. It was a very small production unit. We had a producer on board called Asif Noor. He had a small garment shop on Linking Road. When his shirts and trousers would get sold and he would make a profit, we would get money for the film (laughs). At that time, Aamir was doing ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’. ‘Raakh’, in fact, was ready before they had finished shooting ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’. Aamir’s sister Nuzhat was writing the dialogues for ‘Raakh’. Nasir Hussain saab wanted us to release it after ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’. The entire process of shooting the film was extremely challenging. Whenever people were free and had some money, we would shoot. Sreekar Prasad won a National Award for the film. The film introduced me to several people who are still my friends. As an executive producer, I was trying to run a set without any money.

You have had a long journey in cinemas which continues to move forward. Your first film, ‘Vyooham’, released more than thirty years back.

Every film has been a learning experience for me. In ‘Vyooham’, there was a particular scene in which he had to shoot against the setting sun. Santosh asked me how we will do it but somehow, we managed to achieve it. My first film taught me a lot about setting up a scene and how to make things work even when you are facing challenges.  

You worked with A. R. Rahman on your second film ‘Yoddha’.

It is the only Malayalam film he has done till date. We knew him as Dilip and he was working on ‘Roja’ at that time. I was one of the first people to listen to ‘Chinna Chinna Asai’. I told Rahman, “you have to do my film”. My producers were surprised as they thought I would go with a more established composer. During those days, Rahman wasn’t fond of travelling and liked to spend most of his time in his studio. For any kind of discussion or meeting, you had to go to his studio. Also, he works only during the night. My producers were not used to these things. That time, music directors would come to the producer’s office with a harmonium and play the tunes. Rahman had a very different approach. He would want to listen to the entire story of the film and then, would start working on the music. He will make a tune and then, call you to listen to it. If you don’t like it, he would take another week to share a new tune. The background score of ‘Yoddha’ was one of its biggest highlights. When we would go for a shoot, he would give you a track with the rhythm. He would keep working on the song till the time the music had to be released. That’s what makes him the legend he is.

You had said in an interview that when you were making ‘Yoddha’, Mohanlal was the only person who had faith in it.

When I set out to make ‘Yoddha’, I didn’t want to do anything that had already been done before. My first film ‘Vyooham’ had no songs. It was a very tight film with lots of cuts. It barely had any dialogues. Despite all this, it was a successful film. I thought of making a Kung-Fu film as ‘Shaolin Temple’ (1982) was fresh in our minds. The best place to make a film like that was Nepal. Santosh and I went to Nepal and started putting up the sets. We saw some caves and wanted a set inside it. It was the first film of many who were associated with it. Sham Kaushal had also worked on it. Puneet Issar played the antagonist in the film. The only story we told Lal (Mohanlal) was that a gifted person from Kerala goes to a foreign land and becomes a hero through his deeds. A Kalaripayattu person becomes a Kung-Fu expert. When you are young, you are brave. Everybody around us discouraged us from making such a film. Nobody could connect to the story. We were lucky to find a producer who believed in it. It took us the longest time to write the film. Because of Lal, we could get producers.

You are one filmmaker who has experimented with multiple genres throughout his career.

After making a film, I would want to explore something which I have not done earlier. I don’t prefer telling stories that have already been told. After stepping into Hindi cinema, I faced some issues initially. I faced some obstacles because of different reasons. I watched a bunch of films starring Sunny Deol. I thought how I can make a different film with him. I was quite bothered by some people acting as religious heads and manipulating people. In the climax of ‘Zor’, I wanted a mind game to take place between Sunny and the antagonist. I wanted the audience to think and decide how they look at the scenario around them. However, everybody told me that Sunny has an image and I must stick to it. Despite the restrictions I faced, I feel ‘Zor’ was a good film that didn’t get its due. Sunny is a thorough gentleman and I had a great time working with him. His knowledge of films is incredible.

You had your share of unreleased films as well. In the early 2000s, you made a thriller called ‘Sandhya’ with Jackie Shroff, Raveena Tandon and Ashutosh Rana. In 2002, the music of the film was launched but the film never released.

‘Sandhya’ was a one-night story in one location with just five characters. We created audio rigs on Jackie and Sophiya Haque. We did a lot of experiments while making the film. It was a technically sound film. The film was almost ready. Only the mixing process was left to be carried out. Some distributors even watched the film. I am not very sure why it never released. It was produced by Jackie and Ayesha. Somebody told me that they had borrowed money for the next film. ‘Boom’, which was produced by them, released and didn’t do well. Apart from Jackie, Raveena and Ashutosh, ‘Sandhya’ had Jaaved Jaafery and Danny Denzongpa in principal roles.

A very interestingly designed promo of ‘Sandhya’ was being aired on television sometime in 2002 – 03. The film not getting a release despite being complete must have hurt you.

Yes! However, a few good things happened because of ‘Sandhya’. Ekta Kapoor saw the promo of the film and asked me to direct a horror film for her company. Vivek Singhania offered me to direct ‘Chura Liya Hai Tumne’. We finished the film. After ‘Chura Liya Hai Tumne’ didn’t do well, a lot of people told me that I won’t get to make any more films in Mumbai. A lot of people whom I knew stopped talking my calls. In the Malayalam industry, a director gets work even if a film doesn’t do well. I will always be grateful to Ekta. Despite everybody around her telling her not to sign me for a film, she did. She stood by me during that tough phase. I had an idea which I narrated to her. She loved it and asked me to go ahead with the film. ‘Kya Kool Hain Hum’ was one of the biggest hits of 2005. Subhash Ghai saw the film and asked me to make a comedy for him. I made ‘Apna Sapna Money Money’ and it also did very well.

In the industry, it is often said that when a director makes a film in a successful genre, he is asked to keep making films in that particular genre.

The producers and directors put this pressure on the director. After ‘Kya Kool Hain Hum’ and ‘Apna Sapna Money Money’ did well, a lot of producers asked me to make a comedy for them. ‘Ek The Power of One’ was a good film but it released six years after we had shot it. ‘Click’ also released after a delay of three years.

‘Bhram’ was a very well-made and engaging thriller. With it, you stepped into the digital space.

In the OTT space, too, filmmakers face a lot of issues and challenges. Every OTT platform has a set of subscribers. If an individual has subscribed to a particular platform, they expect it to provide them with a certain kind of content. After we wrote ‘Bhram’, I wanted to pitch it to Netflix. However, reaching out to Netflix was difficult. Getting in touch with the team at Zee5 was much easier. These streaming platforms should be a little more open-minded and accessible. Most of them choose to engage only with the top players in the business.

Do you plan to collaborate with your brother Santosh Sivan in the near future?

When we would work together, we would exchange ideas all the time. Working with Santosh is always a memorable experience. However, we should come together again for the right project. I have seen him refusing big money for projects he was not interested in. He always works on things which inspire him. I hope we get to work on something soon.

Do you wish to make a Malayalam film in the near future?

I want to make a Malayalam film soon. However, I need to find the right subject first. In the last few years, the Malayalam industry has changed for the better. There was a time when we only used to have larger-than-life films. Slowly, the industry started veering towards realistic cinema. ‘Kumbalangi Nights’ has been one of my favourite Malayalam films from the recent films. When you see the film, you get a sense that the director knows Kumbalangi and its people very well. Before making a film based in a particular region, you have to spend some time absorbing that milieu. 

Your next film as a director is ‘Kapkapii’. The film features Tusshar Kapoor and Shreyas Talpade in the lead roles and is the remake of a Malayalam film. How did you think of making a horror comedy this time around?

I had explored horror and comedy in the past. This time, I thought of combining the two genres and see how well it works out. The producers had the remake rights to the original film. Though the basic plot has been borrowed from that film, we have changed a lot of things. It will come across as a fresh film even to those who have seen the original.

You have worked with Tusshar Kapoor and Shreyas Talpade in the past. How was the experience of working with them this time around?

We have finished shooting for the film. The film is in the post-production stage now. When I worked with Tusshar and Shreyas in the past, they were just starting out in their careers. Now, they have evolved as people and are well-established in their careers. It was wonderful working with them after years.

What are you doing next?

I have made a thriller which should come out on a streaming platform soon. The film features Arjun Rampal and Priya Mani in the lead roles.  

(P.S: Sangeeth Sivan left for heavenly abode on 8 May, 2024. This interview was conducted a while before he passed away. The interviewer, who had the good fortune of interacting with him on a couple of occasions, remembers him as a gentleman filled with a lot of warmth and positivity. This interview is a tribute to the passionate filmmaker and fine human being he was).