Vishnu Vishal: 'Matti Kusthi' is a fresh take on sports drama

Actor Vishnu Vishal is coming up with his new project, Matti Kusthi, which marks the directorial debut of Chella Ayyavu. In a recent interview with ETimes, the actor shared details about his upcoming film.

The actor says that his upcoming film, Matti Kusthi, is a fresh take on a sports drama, and exudes confidence that the film will enthral the audience. He said, ''Matti Kusthi is all about the ego clashes between a husband and his wife. Matti Kusthi is form of a sport played in Kerala. It’s an out-and-out family entertainer, and everybody will connect the movie. It’s very light hearted, and every scene in the movie will be treated in a humours way. So, there is an entertainment quotient throughout out. For me, it’s an out-and-out mass masala commercial film. I’ve never done the genre before.''

While talking about the surprising elements in the movie, Vishnu said, ''Audiences are very intelligent these days. They are able to guess what is there in a movie after watching the trailer. So, we’ve deliberately hidden small surprises, which were not revealed in the trailer. That will be something very surprising for the audience. That’s the best thing we could do in a commercial film. You have to watch the film for those surprises.''

He added, ''Frankly speaking, it was probably the toughest trailer ever I had to cut in my career. Because if I reveal something, then the whole essence goes missing. I was a big challenging for us to cut the trailer.''

Vishnu also mentioned that the fill will make the audience cry and laugh at the same time. ''As I said, there is a message in the film. Men and women are equal. There are also emotions in the film. I strongly believe cinema influences society. I thought the message was good and that is why I chose to do this film. When you watch the movie, you will understand the perspective of a woman. Things may be serious between the husband and wife, but while watching the film in theatres, the audience will enjoy the scenes between the duo, which will be completely humours. It will be maintained throughout the film. And I can say that this is the major plus point of our film,'' he adds.

Sharing his opinion about woman empowerment, Vishnu Vishal said, ''What I feel woman empowerment is misunderstood today. What I realize is it will take time. Women should be respected for their decisions whether it is about their career or family. A man alone should not decide. So, decision making should be mutual. That is what the movie talks about.''

Recalling about his first meeting with actor Ravi Teja, Vishnu says, ''During the third wave, I met Ravi Teja garu through my wife Jwala’s friend Sweta. The moment I met him, we started bonding each other. We both spoke about our respective films. I was very happy because I felt respected. The conversation was very positive between us. During the conversation, I narrated him Matti Kusthi storyline, and he really liked it. The moment he heard it he said it will be sure shot winner and I will produce it with you. I said I really happy to do it with you. That’s how he came on board.''

''When I heard the story of Matti Kusthi, I wanted to do it on a large scale. Ravi Teja sir believed me and my story and produced it. Ravi sir will have a special place in my heart because of the confidence that he showered upon me. Even I am very confident that this movie will earn him a good name and money as well,'' an elated Vishnu shared.

Vishnu Vishal has revealed that he would be interested in being cast in a superhero film. Speaking about his dream role, Vishnu said, ''I want to play superhero someday. I think I am very close to it. It will happen soon. We haven’t made a proper superhero film yet. We could relate to superheroes as we grew up watching them.''

Talking about the healthy competition between the film industries, Vishnu said, ''Every film industry has its uniqueness to it. Telugu is known for mass commercial entertainers, and Telugu audience love that genre of films. We have seen back-to-back blockbuster movies like RRR, KGF and Kantara from various industries. The competition is really very good.''

'Matti Kusthi' is all set to hit the theatres on December 2, 2022. Vishnu Vishal and Aishwarya Lekshmi will be seen playing husband and wife in the movie. Gajaraj, Karunas, Sreeja Ravi, Munishkanth, Kaali Venkat, Redin Kingsley, Hareesh Peradi, Ajay and Shatru play significant roles. The technical crew includes Justin Prabhakaran for music, Richard M. Nathan for cinematography, and Prasanna GK for editing.