Karthik Subbaraj on Retro: At its heart, it’s a love story

Mumbai: Filmmaker Karthik Subbaraj, who is known for making movies such as ‘Jigarthanda’ and ‘Pizza’, has opened up about exploring love in his latest film “Retro” with Suriya.

“People expect me to do crime, thrillers, dark comedies,” the director said.

He added: “but Retro is a love story. That is what it is at its heart.”

Set in the 1990s with nostalgia, style, and action, Retro may carry the visual grammar of a vintage gangster flick, but for Subbaraj, it’s all in service of something deeper.

“Even in my earlier films, there’s always been a personal core, often emotional. But this time, I wanted romance to be the driving force. Not just love between a man and woman, but love as a transformative force, something that pushes the character to evolve.”

Talking about Suriya, his character is a once-feared gangster trying to escape his violent past, and is pulled into an emotional reckoning when he falls in love.

“It’s not the usual arc of redemption,” Karthik said.

He added: “It’s about a man who doesn’t even know what peace feels like until he meets someone who makes him believe it’s possible. That tension between who he was and who he wants to be that’s where the romance breathes.”

The director said working with romance as the central motif came with its own challenges.

“It’s easy to make action look cool. But to make love feel real, especially in a world like this — that’s the challenge. You have to earn it.”

Talking about Suriya and Pooja Hegde, he said: “Their chemistry, their silences, the way they look at each other… It’s about subtle shifts, glances, restraint.”

“At the end of the day, style can grab your attention, but it’s emotion that stays with you. And in Retro, that emotion is love.”

‘Retro”, a romantic action film, has been shot in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Ooty, Kerala and Chennai. “Retro” is scheduled to be released worldwide on 1 May.

–IANS