Blockbuster Tamil film director Nelson Dilipkumar is the man of the hour as his latest film, Jailer, starring 'Superstar' Rajinikanth has turned out to be a phenomenal success at the box office. The hit filmmaker recently sat down with Galatta for a special one-on-one interview with acclaimed and National Award-winning Tamil actress Suhasini Maniratnam to talk about how he entered cinema, tasting success with the films he's made to hitting the high note now with Jailer. During the candid conversation, Nelson also talked about how his late father guided him into pursuing cinema, including his health setbacks during the production of his directorial debut, Kolamaavu Kokila (2018), starring 'Lady Superstar' Nayanthara.
Speaking about how his father's health had begun to go down during his filmmaking debut, Nelson said, "He suffered from kidney failure when I was doing Kolamaavu Kokila. He's the reason I entered the film industry. Prior to that, he became paralyzed when I was studying in my second year in college. After that, I became the family breadwinner. There were struggles for a long time and he had a doubt about whether he showed me the right route. But, a week after Kolamaavu Kokila's release, it came to light that he had kidney failure. And, three months after that, he passed away. When I finished the film and showed it to him, he felt content about his decision to guide me into cinema."
Nelson also shared his father's reaction after watching Kolamaavu Kokila, who said, " 'You can make such a nice film? This looks like the work of a big director's film. Okay then, you'll survive in this industry. I don't have to worry about that anymore. That was how he felt. The people around me too had a similar feeling since I'm always playful. After watching the film, they felt it was entertaining and a good theatrical experience." Speaking about his family's reaction to watching Kolamaavu Kokila, Nelson mentioned that he has a younger sister. He added that he's never asked her how the film was since he felt she might change her opinion. The hit filmmaker also spoke about his mother and how she praised him for coming up in life. Regarding the reaction to the mammoth success of Jailer, Nelson stated, "They're all happy because they've been seeing my struggles since the initial stages in cinema. They've seen me wanting to come to good for nearly 12 years in the film industry. They all feel happy that I've made it and am in a good place in life."
Watch Nelson Dilipkumar talk about how his father encouraged him to take up cinema in the video below:
