Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Vishal Menon sits down with Rohith VS to talk about Tikitaka, the director's most ambitious film yet and his first full-fledged mass action drama. Headlined by Asif Ali and scored by Ravi Basrur, Tikitaka marks a deliberate shift for a filmmaker known for cult favourites that found their audience slowly. Rohith explains why the project excites him, how a teaser released two years ago built the hype around it, and what that anticipation tells him about what young Malayalam audiences want from the big screen today. He opens up about sustaining a single vision across a five-year journey, the thrill of building more than twenty action set pieces, and his belief that the film's genre still feels fresh to Malayalam cinema.
The conversation moves into Rohith's instinctive, visual-first approach to filmmaking, his admiration for the framing of mass action master Shaji Kailas, and why he considers Baahubali his all-time favourite action film. Rohith reflects on his earlier work, the cult following around Kala, the deeply personal disappointment when Iblis underperformed, and how Adventures of Omanakuttan remains a film he has never revisited. He talks candidly about avoiding dialogue-heavy and morally compromised scripts, the way he keeps improvising his shot divisions till the last minute, and his hope to one day reimagine Iblis on a global, Marvel-like scale. Watch the full conversation.
#Tikitaka #RohithVS #AsifAli
00:00 Introduction
06:44 Shaji Kailas and framing magic
12:46 Watching films without the dialogue
18:08 Why he avoids unethical heroes
23:43 Tikitaka as a cinema tribute
30:40 Staying true, not jumping genres
37:21 Twenty-two action set pieces
43:38 Never chasing the safer film
49:16 Reimagining Iblis on global scale
Vishal Menon sits down with Rohith VS to talk about Tikitaka, the director's most ambitious film yet and his first full-fledged mass action drama. Headlined by Asif Ali and scored by Ravi Basrur, Tikitaka marks a deliberate shift for a filmmaker known for cult favourites that found their audience slowly. Rohith explains why the project excites him, how a teaser released two years ago built the hype around it, and what that anticipation tells him about what young Malayalam audiences want from the big screen today. He opens up about sustaining a single vision across a five-year journey, the thrill of building more than twenty action set pieces, and his belief that the film's genre still feels fresh to Malayalam cinema.
The conversation moves into Rohith's instinctive, visual-first approach to filmmaking, his admiration for the framing of mass action master Shaji Kailas, and why he considers Baahubali his all-time favourite action film. Rohith reflects on his earlier work, the cult following around Kala, the deeply personal disappointment when Iblis underperformed, and how Adventures of Omanakuttan remains a film he has never revisited. He talks candidly about avoiding dialogue-heavy and morally compromised scripts, the way he keeps improvising his shot divisions till the last minute, and his hope to one day reimagine Iblis on a global, Marvel-like scale. Watch the full conversation.
#Tikitaka #RohithVS #AsifAli
00:00 Introduction
06:44 Shaji Kailas and framing magic
12:46 Watching films without the dialogue
18:08 Why he avoids unethical heroes
23:43 Tikitaka as a cinema tribute
30:40 Staying true, not jumping genres
37:21 Twenty-two action set pieces
43:38 Never chasing the safer film
49:16 Reimagining Iblis on global scale
