Thunivu director H Vinoth on Ajith-Vijay box office clash: ‘Fans should keep it healthy’

 Filmmaker H Vinoth is quite confident about his upcoming movie Thunivu as he suggested that it will be one of the best films of his career so far. The movie is also his third consecutive collaboration with Tamil superstar Ajith Kumar. And he believes as long as there is mutual respect and trust between an actor and director, there is no need to worry about regular collaborations.

“We don’t need to worry about whether or not it’s healthy. As long as that team is doing a good job that’s enough. Ajith sir and I did Nerkonda Paarvai and we both think it’s a very important film. We also did Valimai with good intentions. With all the lessons we learned from the past movies, we have made an entertaining and better movie this time,” he said.He added, “Ajith doesn’t have the airs of a star. He behaves with everyone like a common man. On the sets, he will be like a man next door. We both have a comfortable relationship. We have mutual trust.”

H Vinoth also revealed a lesser-known fact about Ajith’s personality. “People know about Ajith’s interest in racing. But, many don’t know that Ajith is so good with finances. He’s an excellent accountant and he manages his money himself. His advice to everyone is to pay taxes properly. Put the money you owe in tax in a separate bank account. So when it’s time to pay the taxes you won’t feel bad and you don’t get ideas to evade taxes. Keep 10 per cent of your income for charity. When you are well-off, some people will come asking for help and you will be able to help them. The rest of the money is yours to plan day-to-day expenses and investments,” he said.

Ajith is not a fan of his fans dedicating most of their lives to promoting his films. It’s one of the reasons he dissolved his fan clubs over 10 years ago. He’s the only star of his stature to do that.

“Ajith is okay with fans doing certain things for fun. But, he believes that they shouldn’t spend all their time just doing such things. He just wants them to watch when a new movie comes out and celebrate it. But, they shouldn’t abuse anyone using a film. Cinema must be just a part of their lives and not life itself,” Vinoth said.

Thunivu is set to clash at the box office with Tamil superstar Vijay’s Varisu. And this box office clash has been making waves in Tamil Nadu as many are debating who’s the bigger star between Ajith and Vijay.“It’s in the hands of the fans to keep it (competition) healthy. Two films are coming out and there is a long holiday for the Pongal festival. People, who have money, can watch both films. Otherwise, they can select one film and watch it,” Vinoth said.

Bankrolled by Boney Kapoor, Thunivu also stars Manju Warrier and Samuthirakani in pivotal roles. The film is due in cinemas on Wednesday.