EVENT COVERAGE

Vijay finds a Mani Ratnam

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The much awaited audio of the Vijay starrer Thuppakki was released today at Hotel Park Sheraton Chennai, in the presence of the entire team consisting of Vijay, Kajal Aggarwal, AR Murugadoss, Santosh Sivan, Kalaipuli S Thanu, Pa Vijay, Madhan Karky, Na Muthukumar, Viveka and Sathyan. The other guests of honor were Radha Ravi, SA Chandrasekar, Shoba Chandrasekar and ‘Film News’ Anandhan. Television anchor Bhavana hosted the event

The music CD was launched innovatively, with a huge pistol model with the audio disk making its way into the stage from the background. The electronic model was a bigger and 3 dimensional version of the Thuppakki film logo. The first copy of the CD was presented by the entire team to ‘Film News’ Anandhan.

Producer of the film Thanu introduced Thuppakki and the team behind it. He also assured that the film will be of western quality and that it will be a bench mark for the upcoming biggies. “Harris, after watching the film, called me up and said that this film is 10 times bigger and better than Kaakha Kaakha. I was on cloud nine after hearing that from him,” bragged the producer.

Lyricist Viveka spoke about his song Kutti Puli Kootam and how AR Murugadoss and Harris Jeyaraj made him write the song. He said, “They both sat next to me and made sure that the intro song wasn’t too preachy. They were also very keen about not losing the ‘gethu’ of the song.”

Pa Vijay has penned a patriotic number for the film and he is sure that it will do its job of making everybody love their country more after listening to it. “You give a pebble to Thanu, he can make it into a star. But here, he already has a star and god knows how big Thuppakki is going to be. This is a big team and a winning team,” summed up the lyricist.

Na Muthukumar and Karky too shared their experience of working with the team and how their songs were given shapes. Madhan Karky disclosed that Harris is a very difficult man to work with. “He doesn’t let us free unless we give him the best product,” said he.

The man of the moment, Harris Jayaraj said, “I have been mastering for Maattrraan during the entire night and I had to rush here for the event. But that’s how I work. After doing Thuppakki, I feel very happy for having done a film that will appeal to all types of audience. Instead of Thuppakki it must be called ‘Beerangi’ (cannon). And that’s what it’s going to be called after its release.” He also praised Vijay on his comeback as a singer.

Sathyan made everyone laugh aloud with his hilarious speech. He shared some of the experiences he had during the shooting. He also opened up about the sense of humor AR Murugadoss and Vijay possess. While talking about Vijay he mocked that his chemistry in the film with Vijay was better than that of Kajal and Vijay’s. He also thanked Harris for not making him sing a song in the film. About the producer, he wittily said, “Nobody can beat Thanu’s promotional tactics. Every single poster of his will start at Chennai and go all the way till Chengalpet. That big it will be!”

The captain of the ship, AR Murugadoss gave the entire credit of Thuppakki to SA Chandrasekar. The director reasoned, “He initiated the project, which I have been waiting to do for years. I have always wanted to do a film with Vijay. But the right opportunity never came until SAC contacted me.” He said that he was initially skeptical about Vijay’s talents. “But he proved me wrong. His timing sense and screen presence were brilliant. His Hindi too was authentic,” added the Thuppakki maker. He is also planning to do a straight Hindi film with Vijay in the lead.

About Santosh Sivan, AR Murugadoss said that he is proud to have worked with him. “This is the first film he is doing after Mani Ratnam’s Raavanan. And It makes me happier to know that Thuppakki is his first film after being recognized by the American Society of Cinematographers,” boasted AR Murugadoss. He also added, “I don’t know whether nature reacts to his request or he reacts to nature through his work. Every frame of his is a master piece.”

Later AR Murugadoss called upon the stage, all his assistants and thanked them for their support. He summed up saying, “Thuppakki will not be a tedious watch. Instead you will still find it interesting, even if you watch it five times in a single day.”

SA Chandrasekar came to the event at the clutch and apologized for being late. “I had to attend two more events. Hadn’t I done that and come straight to this one, everyone at the union might say that SAC attends only his son’s events. I can’t afford to earn such censures. I honor every artiste, and I have done the right thing,” he said.

“When I asked Vijay for his call sheet, he asked me to get a top director and technicians. I went hunting for a top director and zeroed on AR Murugadoss. He asked me for a lump sum. But, I didn’t hesitate to pay him, for I was sure of the success. Then, after paying Murugadoss, his advance, I got the call sheet of my own son. Later, I had to hand over the project to Thanu due to none of the reasons media had speculated,” narrated SA Chandrasekar, the story behind Thuppakki.

He wished the team a big success and observed Vijay’s victory as his own.

The crowd went crazy when Vijay took the mike. He started by singing a couple of lines from the song ‘Google Goolgle…’ Then he said, “Thuppakki to me is a dream project, with the best technicians in the country, all thanks to my dad.”

He praised AR Murugadoss as one of the best story tellers he had ever come across. He also said that he has asked Santosh Sivan to do at least one good commercial film every two years. He called Kajal his ‘Hot and Spicy girlfriend’, but was quick to add, “Padathula, Padathula” (meaning ‘in film’). Adding a punch to his speech he called AR Murugadoss the Kutti Mani Ratnam.