“Kee is a Tholkappiya sol (word). Every word has a meaning and ‘kee’ means that which has equal amounts of good and bad in it,” begins director Kalees, who will be making his debut with Jiiva’s upcoming tech thriller Kee.
He draws a parallel between this Tholkappiya word and the modern day keyboard, “Similarly the keyboard, too, has an equal amount of good and bad to it,” he elaborates. With this brief, we begin an interview with the director, who has previously worked with director Selvaraghavan. His own directorial debut has, unfortunately, taken quite some time to hit the screens. Excerpts from a phone interview below:
Your film saw a considerable delay. Why so?
In some stories, if the elder brother does some mistake and flees, the police will pick up the younger brother. My story was similar. My producer’s previous film faced a loss and that was carried over to mine. Unfortunately, it took a while to gain the support of the people. The shooting of our film in 2016 and was completed by late 2017. It was slated for a February 2018 release but (we) had to find an alternate date because Jiiva’s Kalakalappu 2 too was releasing on the same date. One delay led to another but finally, here we are. However, I have taken it positively, in my stride.
What will Kee be about?
Today, people give their children smartphones. Does their activity on the Internet affect them? Parents can buy a computer for their children but where will they keep it? Will they keep it in a public space like the living room or will they keep it in their personal space (bedroom)? It might just be a 20-feet distance but that makes a lot of difference. My film is about this.
Since it is a tech thriller, what kind of research did you put into it?
I wrote the story five years ago. I was working as Selvaraghavan’s associate at that time and so I wanted to do a very different genre. Since I have an MCA background, I thought a tech story would suit me better. It was also easy for me to understand technology.
Today, the algorithm on the internet, especially on social media websites like Facebook, tracks us based on our likes and our searches. The mind, our fingers and the algorithm are all connected. That algorithm can do anything to us. The story was written based on this.
Owing to its delayed release, do you think the script may have become a bit outdated since we’ve seen films like Vishal’s Irumbuthirai and Jayaprakash Radhakrishnan’s Lens?
Today, we can tell stories from the ‘70s also and they would still feel relevant. The impact depends on the screenplay. I am sure Kee will create the right impact. This film will create an awareness for people. Even today, incidents like the Pollachi sexual assault case are taking place. Our own sister, next door neighbour may be affected by something like this. As long as smartphones are relevant, my story too will be.
So did you anticipate that using smartphones and social media would lead to crimes such as the one that happened in Pollachi recently?
I was sure such things would happen and I haven’t been proven wrong. If a girl who uses smartphone dies due to suicide, this film will make us think that there could be a reason beyond just the failure of love. This film will create that doubt in the minds of people.
How have you handled these sensitive topics in the film?
This is an entertainer film. I didn’t want to do just a serious story. People will take the content only based on how it is presented. The first half has a lot of fun but at the same time, the film is also serious. Even though we are handling sensitive topics, there are a few commercial elements added to it. A lot like director Shankar’s films. It has a serious message, deals with sensitive topics but at the same time, it is commercial.