PRODUCER S SASHIKANTH INTERVIEW

Kaaviya Thalaivan began post Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi starring Siddharth. Vasanthabalan & Siddharth had previously discussed it and Siddharth is a very good friend of mine. When Vasanthabalan independently approached us I spoke to Siddharth and he reaffirmed that it was a great project. There are projects that can confirm a brand identity for a company. With this we knew instinctively that this was something that could place [Y NOT] above the level that we were involved in to date. We knew this was a 2.5 year journey and it would be hard work, because it’s been a long time since this kind of movie has been around. We also knew this was going to be top heavy; we wanted to go to the best musician possible, and we knew Rahman sir would be our top choice. 

We were very particular, given Rahman sir’s strained time that we get all the songs from him prior to going to shoot. We didn’t want to finish a schedule and then wait for Rahman sir to give us another song and then shoot it; we wanted to make sure that the shoot was completely controlled by us. From October 2012 to July 2013 he gave us 90% of the songs, and we utilized that time to get all the other details right.

The movie is about actors fighting for the stage in the 1940s; it’s a trend that continues to date. You have your MGR & your Sivaji; your Rajini and your Kamal. There are always 2 kinds of actors in a particular era. So there is a thread in this lineage of our cinema that can show the 2 kinds of actors, and Siddharth & Prithvi’s dedication to the roles to show those are outstanding. I think after a very long time this will be a movie that will stand out even just for the acting that has gone into it. This is an actors’ movie!

The consensus was that we needed someone who was at their top of their game to pull off something like this. This is not the kind of project that you could just start composing on day one, there needed to be a lot of research to understand that time’s sound, etc. During the discussion of wanting someone at the top Balan himself said “let’s just go all the way and say we want Rahman”, and our first reaction was “are you joking?” Then, 2 minutes later we too realized “I bet he would be interested in doing it.” So immediately after this conversation, Siddharth, having worked with Rahman on 3 prior occasions, was able to set up a meeting between Rahman and Balan. And in a matter of 7-10 days he was on board.
 

There’s a character [loosely based on yesteryear singer] “Kitappa” and the minute Rahman sir came on board he just sent a 2-worded email to all of us saying “Kitappa ready”. That was all he said, those 2 words to confirm the project. That was an unbelievable feeling for all of us, to realise we were going to create a Rahman musical.
 

He brings such enthusiasm every time he comes and does something, like the press meet or the album launch. He has been a catalyst for all of us; he’s the one who opened doors for us. His coming on board was a major shot in the arm for all of us, actually, even to date.

“Yaarumilla” is my favorite without a doubt! Even today when I see the film, [that song] is an extraordinary piece of music and visuals coming together.
 

Every song in this movie has a concept behind it. With “Yaarumilla” – that particular idea was based on the romance between Kitappa and KB Sundarambal. There were letters that Sundarambal had sent to Kitappa which are supposed to be on par with Shakespearan love letters! So the song’s inspiration comes from that.

I would describe Vedhicka as a slightly old-school heroine. She uses a lot of hand gesturing, etc. and that’s exactly how they acted back then, but she is also naturally like that as well. She was a perfect fit in the sense that I think she is slightly more expressive as an actor. It is a role of a lifetime for her, solid and performance-based, and I think she outdoes her character from Paradesi. 

Kaaviya Thalaivan is definitely bigger than any other production we have handled or are handling and I’m not sure that I would want to handle another project of this scale again, at least not in the near future. It’s not just the money, the scale [also shows] in the number of days you stay awake! It has been absolutely worth it, but something has to come along that matches this level for me to put 2.5 years in again.