For director RS Durai Senthilkumar , a hero is an ordinary man with the grit, resilience, and capabilities “to tackle the most extraordinary of circumstances, for a larger cause or his own benefit.” His upcoming action film Garudan shows a God’s eye view of three such heroes, who make the film a relay race of sorts, “as each of them takes up the baton and spearheads this story one after the other.” A multi-hero subject such as this is right up Durai’s alley as such an effort to give ample space to secondary leads and supporting characters is visible in almost all his films.
Durai credits this quality to the experience of working with his mentors — ace filmmakers Balu Mahendra and Vetri Maaran. “These are things I must have picked from the interactions with them. But even aside from that, a story told for over two hours cannot be one-sided; that will only result in a templated product,” he says, adding that strong supporting characters help in adding drama and strengthening the conflict in the story.
These are discussions quite refreshing to indulge in as heroes in Tamil cinema, for long, have been reluctant towards projects that might have them share the limelight with others. “But now, even in bigger films, having multiple artists has become a necessity. Heroes are aware of that as well.
” This is why, Durai says, actor Soori — who has famously started a second innings as a serious actor since Vetri Maaran’s Viduthalai — has chosen a multi-hero sub.