The story of skeletons tumbling out from broken walls is part of Chennai’s, then Madras’, darkest secret. This story of an auto driver, who gained the reputation of a ruthless, lecherous killer when police unearthed 6 corpses buried inside walls, a cinema inspired idea, close to three decades ago, shook the city to its core. And the fictionalised series on this killer, Auto Shankar, a man who spread terror during the late 80s in Madras, now airing on Zee5 Tamil is creating a curious ripple among thriller and crime loving audience.
The series, which has been produced by Trident Arts Digital and Manoj Paramahamsa’s Baby Shoe Productions (he has also worked as its cinematographer) stars Sarath Appani of Angamaly Diaries fame who play the lead role. Others in the cast include Selvapandian, Swayam, Arjun Chidambaram, Saranya Ravi and Augustin. The series has music by Arrol Corelli.
In this interview with TNM, Ranga, who has made his debut as a director through this series, talks about the world of Auto Shankar, their decision for using profanity and what went into its making.
What were your thoughts before the release of the show? What reactions were you anticipating?
Just before the release we didn’t have any time to think about how it might be received. We wanted to finish things so we can present it perfectly. But we were quite prepared for how it might be received even while making it and we took extra care for why we were doing what we were doing. We wanted to deliver it without compromise irrespective of what the response might be.
Now that the series is out, what kind of comments have you been receiving? The press show in fact had some of the journalists expressing their disappointment with respect to the swear words that was used in the series.
We knew the cuss words and the make out scenes would receive backlash. We made sure we included those words only when it was absolutely necessary. We did not overuse our creative freedom. We did not force anything either. There are few of them who take it differently; it depends on their personal principles.
But we know not all of them have a problem with it. Even during the press show only 30% of those present there raised objections. In fact a few of them appreciated us backstage. One of them told me, ‘You haven’t taken a series on a person like Abdul Kalam. Auto Shankar is such kind of a person. You have presented it well.’
How much of Auto Shankar is based on facts and how much of it is fiction?
We have used 70% fiction and 30% of it is based on facts. We’ve only presented what people already know. There are case files for the 6 killings. People also say he has kidnapped women but there are no case records for it, it is more like a rumour without any closure. We do not know how much of that is true so we’ve not shown it. At the same time, we did not increase the number of killings just to make him sound invincible. The open questions about Shankar, we’ve left them as such. We have also spoken to three-four people who were very close to Auto Shankar to sketch his character.
We know Auto Shankar is based on a real person. What about the other characters Chandrika, inspector Kathiravan and the minister? Are they real people too?
They are actually fictionalised. For Chandrika, people of Thiruvanmiyur and Periyar Nagar , places where Shankar actually lived and controlled, say he’s a good man but his fall was mainly because he was a womaniser. For this, we needed a character like Chandrika who could travel throughout. She was created to show his lustful side.
Similarly it is a known fact that for Auto Shankar to have become so formidable, a police man like Kathiravan was the reason. We do not know who it was in specific but there’s no denying that he existed. Kathiravan was created to portray this officer and same goes for the minister.
A lot of detailing has gone into recreating the 80s. Tell us about the research that went into props, costumes and locations.
We’ve heard from people that he dressed very well, that he wore different types of lungis, those with flower patterns, silky ones, etc. People around him have also admired his style. So we paid a lot of attention to Auto Shankar’s clothing, the glasses and watches he wore. We knew he also drove fancy vehicles. We have used old Royal Enfield, Yezdi and Contessa car in this series because those were the ones we could get our hands on.
When it comes to filming period dramas, budget requirements are usually very high. We tried to keep it as basic as possible. We also played around a bit subconsciously by removing items that could indicate the time period from the frame. We shot in semi-urban areas where development has not caught up. We scouted for locations that could be most ideal for filming the arrack making scenes. It was actually shot at a place called Malaipattu en route Kishkinta. It had the perfect setting for what we wanted.
Some have expressed that the series feels rushed. Did you plan on making it longer?
We actually wanted to make two seasons or at least 50 minute episodes but we had other constraints and chose to go with the ten 30-minute episodes. the series itself was filed in 35 days over a period of few months. It was quite a challenge.
The digital medium does not have a censorship, unlike films. What are the pros and cons of it?
The advantage is clearly the creative freedom. But we should also be responsible filmmakers. In that sense we have been very cautious. Also, this series demands the usage of such words. A sanitised version of Auto Shankar need not be made, in my opinion.
We were happy to be able to show who Auto Shankar for who he was without any limitations and it was possible only because it was made for an OTT platform. I don’t think a film like this would ever be made. Now if I’m listing the creative freedom to use such swear words in the series under pros, I cannot list it under cons, can I?
Let us talk about humanising Auto Shankar. Why give him a backstory? Why show him repenting?
For one, Auto Shankar was not a serial killer or a psychopath. He’s just a very bad person, an instinctive killer. All his killings were not the same. a lot of them express their anger but he just took it a step ahead by killing them.
As for the flashback we have not humanised him for sure. We didn't want to exaggerate. This backstory was told by someone close to Shankar and we wanted to record it. Even now when we did an interview with people 50% of them have said he’s a good guy. In fact, in Makkal TV they have sympathised with him. This entire series would have been different if we wanted to humanise Auto Shankar. Perhaps we wouldn’t have shown him swearing at all. Maybe then people wouldn’t have had a problem.
Auto Shankar isn’t exactly a man of virtue. Did you ever consider that by introducing him to a whole new generation, by telling his story to everyone, you might present a character that might come off as cool or invincible - like Pablo Escobar from Narcos? We know he’s the bad guy but he falls under the admirable bad guy.
Our portrayal is more entertaining. The final shot in the final episode sums up his journey perfectly. When you watch it, you’ll know that capital punishment was something he deserved. We know Auto Shankar deserved it, but what about Chandrika? What about the minister?
You’ve spent all this time with Auto Shankar, did a bit of him enter your thoughts?
In fact, I wanted to tattoo ‘AS203’ (Auto Shankar and 203 was his roll in the jail), on my hand. I think I was able to relate to his dark side at some level. All of us have a dark side and I was able to see mine clearly. I know I get angry at times but I don’t turn into a killer like him for that.