Shaji Kailas, whose name spells success in Malayalam filmdom today, started with comedy films, Dr.Pasupathi, But there was no looking back for himonce he teamed up With scriptwriter Ranji Panicker & Suresh Gopi, the trio delievered hits like Ekalavyan , Commissioner , etc. He continued delivering hits like The king with Mamooty in the main lead, Aramthampuram  with Mohanlal in the lead, wherein the phrase Shambo mahadeva became the cach word for the Malayalam masses. Shaji has also made foray in the Tamil filmdom with the movie Vaanchinatham, but his forte lies in the Malayalam filmdom. His movies Valiayetan  with Mamooty & Narasimhamam  with Mohanlal have broken all previous records. One of course cannot forget his inviting criticism for film like The truth, which he claims was s his original subject, & blaming Priyadarshan for copying the subject. Shaji silences his critics with the following answers.

Excerpts:

What is the formula for the success of your films?
See. We are in the Kaliyuga. Just look at our media, which is supposed to be mirror of society, is glorifiying brigand Veerappan's activities. Today it is not the hero (Rajkumar) who is being talked about but the Villain (Veerappan). In Valiyettan  the public loved the sadist Sai kumar and not Arackal Madhvan Unni. When I did Narsimham  I was a bit scared because we are showing a Superstar as a man of vices but he is also fighting for a justice that was denied to him in his childhood. It was a vendetta tale but the central character was not the gentleman role. The public just lapped it up and here I learnt that the public likes violent hero and that is my formula.

After Narsimham  the next film might have been quite tension ridden since the public expectation was very high..
Mmmm…Yes. After Narsimham  I could not walk on the streets because the public used to shout "brother give us some hard hitting dialogues like you did last time". And I realised that there would be comparison with my last film here after. In my opinion, common man's requirements should be fulfilled.

From Aram Thampuran  to Valiyettan  the story is always of a feudal family, an injustice done to the hero during his teens and then his coming back to win the usurped property back... why this beaten track?
(Laughs…) My first priority is safety of my producer. Today the producer of Valiyettan  will get around Rs 7 crores from Rs 2 crores investment. Secondly the movie goer should get his money's worth. If Narsimham  was a one-man show by Lal then Valiyettan  was a family rallying around big brother to fight the evil. Narsimham  was depended on the hero image but Valiyettan  is not. It's a collective effort. If you see my films, I have handled all kind of subjects-comedy, melodrama and love stories. The reason for having my hero in a Hindu feudal setup is because I can take any liberties with the subject and the background. I can have a fight scene inside a temple or have the hero abuse a Hindu god and get away with all that. But if my hero is a Muslim character, the same scene can not be done in a Masjid. Sadly today the majority community is on the receiving end.

The criticism is that your films have taken the Malayalam filmdom to a Tamil or Telugu film style where logic is thrown out of the window?
I don't agree on that. Show me one scene where I have showed a fight that has defied logic or a scene that is very filmic. The character is violent. Will you see a scene where the hero throws a ring into the air and till it comes down he bashes up hundreds of men. All fights are natural. If you say my film has sequences which are too bizarre…. then what about Mamta Banerjee? Aren't Mamata's tantrums bizarre? My films are only a lesser depiction of the gruesome happenings in the real world. Well since you talk about Tamil films, are not the Tamil films running in Kerala to full houses and our so-called 'realistic films' falling like ninepins at the box office? Today you have English films keeping audience at tenterhooks and to me the theatre is a place where you have to give a shock treatment to the audience. All those who talk about crisis in film industry have not realised this truth about box office. To achieve this you have to keep new camera angles and give new stuff. We have to do all the gimmicks to achieve success.

Director Fazil said that Narasimham  has put Mohanlal in an image trap. Do you agree with him?
Look.. Mohanlal is a multi-faceted actor. He is one of the best actors in India. He can give hundred different variations. I just used one facet of him. I used his ability to dance and fight, not the actor inside him. This image trap thing is nonsense.

What about Fazil, do you like his films?
Yes. I like his work. Personally, I liked 'Life is Beautiful ' very much. What about common people? Did it have any elements to attract the mass? Fazil should have decided whether he was making a film for a select audience or a mass audience.

What is your next project?
I am doing a film with Mammootty for Shogun films R Mohan and once again it is a different film. Mammootty is playing a tough police officer role. I will do one more film with Mohan Lal but not now. Because I have to give this actor a role and a subject much bigger than Narsimham  and till I get it I will not do with him.