His work socked me like a kick to the balls when I was a kid. Now, in a world overwhelmed by noise and hollow spectacle, it knocks even deeper. He wasn’t chasing pretty. The man was hunting purpose. Every frame was deliberate, alive, as if the film itself had a heartbeat.

The guy’s a fucking maniac in the best possible way. I went to meet him at his home in Chennai. No cinema talk. Just real, unfiltered conversation.

I shot this on the way to meet him. Just a trace to hold the moment still before reverence kicks in.