Back in 2001, when SJ Suryah directed Khushi with Pawan Kalyan in lead role, it went on to become the biggest hit ever in the actor's career. SJ Suryah became an overnight sensation in Telugu cinema, and having already made his mark in Tamil cinema, he was touted as one of the most interesting filmmakers to watch out for in South Indian cinema. But little did anyone expect that he had no plans to stick to directing films for the rest of his life. No, he had something else on his mind — the dream of becoming a lead actor. “Back in the '90s, no one was ready to cast me as a lead actor or produce my films. So I had to direct films to make a name for myself,” SJ Suryah recounts with a laugh. With his terrific performance in AR Murugadoss’ Spyder making a solid impression, it’s hard to forget his laughter even in the midst of a casual conversation. In Spyder, he kills people for fun and derives sadistic pleasure when he hears others cry, and breaks into laughter. It’s this psychopathic streak of the character (Bhairavudu), SJ Suryah admits, that caught his attention. “The role was quite intense and on top of that, he’s a psychopath. It’s a challenge for any actor, and at the same time, whenever you get a chance to do something unusual, you feel all charged up. I figured out that the role is going to be quite challenging when Murugadoss began narrating the story. I was on a high,” he recalls. In mid-2016, Suryah was on the verge of directing the Telugu remake of Veeram with Pawan Kalyan in the lead role. However, just before the film was supposed to go on floors, SJ Suryah shocked everyone when he opted out of the project to focus on his acting career. No one had guessed that he was quite serious about his plans, and looking at the way he has been flooded with offers, especially in Tamil cinema, it’s evident that he has finally found his groove. “Before I turned director, I was scared that I would end up becoming an unsuccessful actor or remain as a junior artiste for the rest of my life. Thankfully, that didn’t happen [laughs]. Now, I couldn’t be happier with the way things are going on. I have three more films where I’m playing a lead, and at the moment, I have no plans to direct a film,” he says. Post-Spyder, SJ Suryah is betting big on Atlee’s Mersal, which will also release in Telugu as Adhirindhi. “I spent the last few months juggling between the sets of Spyder and Mersal (Adhirindhi). The switch between the two characters was also a big task and it was a great opportunity for me to explore two extremely different characters. While I played a dark role in Spyder, when it comes to Adhirindhi (Mersal), I’m playing a very stylish role and my look is going to be very classy. Like Daniel Craig! You’ll have to watch the film to see why I loved the role so much. The flashback episode is going to be amazing,” he explains. Although he had made up his mind that he would continue playing lead roles after earning rave reviews for his role in Karthik Subbaraj’s Iraivi, SJ Suryah admits that he made an exception for these two films. “I admire both Murugadoss and Atlee a lot. Moreover, the concepts they told me were quite interesting. I also felt that playing such negative roles will help me to take a big leap in future when I play lead roles. For instance, take Shah Rukh Khan — I feel that his performances in films like Baazigar and Darr helped him a lot when he became a hero. Both Murugadoss and Atlee were very clear about what they wanted, and they have immense faith and respect for other technicians. I was in safe hands [laughs]. I pretty much made an exception for these two films, but I won’t mind doing such negative roles again provided the the character is powerful and exciting enough for me. Otherwise, there’s no point. I’ll continue to play lead roles.” In Mersal (Adhirindhi), SJ Suryah is pitted against Vijay. The two had previously collaborated in 2000 when the SJ Suryah directed Vijay, Jyothika-starrer Kushi which went on to become a huge hit. And 17 years later, they are back together in the same fold, although in different avatars. “He’s become a huge star now, but at the same time, his stardom hasn’t changed him as a person. He has become all the more focused as an actor and humble as a person. The film will be a testimony to his star power and I’m confident that the Telugu version too will be received very well by the audiences. You’ll see a brand new Vijay in the film. Atlee is a wonderful actor too and he is very particular about what he wants from his actors. So, he would enact every scene during the narration. That helped me a lot. I adapted a lot of his body language to play my role,” he says, adding, “I’ve often been asked if I find it tough to just stick to acting and not interfere in the director’s ways nowadays. The truth is, I follow the designation quite strictly [laughs]. If I’m an actor, I will not unlock my creative knowledge beyond what is expected from me. I became a director to make SJ Suryah an actor. And I won’t do anything to change that equation now [laughs].”
Of late, a string of poorly written roles for villains had a ripple effect on the film experience itself. Why would you root for a hero if his nemesis isn’t strong enough? Under these circumstances, an actor like SJ Suryah has made a sea of difference. AR Murugadoss has already showed us what the actor is capable of doing, and now, all eyes are on Atlee. “The biggest take away after doing a villainous role in Adhirindhi (Mersal),” SJ Suryah says, “has been that when you approach a scene with a subtle performance, whether it’s dark or stylish, it reaches people a lot more than when you do a loud character. You have to truly believe in what you are doing and also, avoid doing cliched stuff. These days, people aren’t really bothered about what you do. They care about how you it and how well you play that role. Look at Aamir Khan — he might have done a lot of action and romantic films, but in Dangal, he played an old man, who loses against his own daughter, and then in the climax, he barely has a role to play. But everything he did in the film won him a lot of respect and appreciation. It’s by backing such good scripts that you become a true hero. You don’t have throw in a few punches and kick the goons.” Sometimes, all it takes is to laugh and laugh when others cry. Or you could be a cool dude who matches a superstar eye to eye, and still make an impression as a villain. Whatever the case maybe, SJ Suryah is living his dream at the moment. Period. Mersal (Adhirindhi in Telugu), directed by Atlee, is slated for release on 18 October. Mersal producer Hema Rukmani: 'Vijay performed all the magic tricks himself, there's no CGI'10/15/2017 Producer Hema Rukmani of Thenandal Studios Limited, is in the midst of spearheading a comprehensive promotional strategy for TSL's 100th production Mersal — and tackling the various roadblocks that come up in the days before a film's release. The producer sat down for a chat with Itz Chennai about the last-minute issues surrounding the project, Vijay's readiness to walk the extra mile, and director Atlee's portrayal of women characters. "Regardless of the budget of a film, we always go through this pre-release tension. It's all part and parcel of the process. Just because it's a big budget film, it's magnified. The problem depends on how big the budget and the target is. Every producer faces hell and heaven before the film hits the screens. And, everybody is in touch with us; we are all friends and working towards it. Lakhs of people have put in their efforts for the film, and we have all their support," Even if you hardly follow Tamil film industry, the odds are that you might have stumbled upon some of the promotional campaigns of Team Mersal. In fact, the film marks a lot of firsts for the southern film industry. Mersal is the first South Indian movie to trademark its title. It also has a character emoji curated by Twitter for various movie-related hashtags. "Since it is our 100th film, we decided to do something as innovative as possible. We have a very young and vibrant team, and Murali (Murali Ramasamy, CEO of Thenandal Films and Rukmani's husband) is very passionate about doing things differently. He contributed a lot of ideas himself, and I executed some of those. Today we are glued to Facebook and Twitter, so instead of us trying to market our film, we decided to give that happiness to Vijay sir's fans, because they celebrate Vijay sir more than anyone. Now they are promoting the film, and it's a tremendous team working for the film's success," said Hema.
Although a lot of issues plague the release of the film, Hema says actor Vijay is quite upbeat, in a positive frame of mind and is calmly looking forward to the movie's release on 18 October, in time for Diwali. "Vijay sir is thrilled with the kind of comfort we as a production company provided him, the support his fans lent during the audio launch, the amount of work Atlee has contributed and Rahman sir's music. He is delighted and looking forward to the Diwali release," said Hema. Hema said Vijay didn't have starry airs at all and was very cooperative on set. She was part of the entire Europe schedule, where significant portions have been canned, as the on-site producer. "Vijay sir liked the serenity of Europe. The hotel we stayed was above a shopping mall, and he even asked us if there's any good shop to purchase things. But I don't think we gave him the time to shop [smiles]. He was very cooperative and always there on time for the shoot, every single day. Irrespective of how strenuous the previous day was, he had never asked us to reschedule or postpone the shoot. Rain or shine, he was there," recalled Hema. The off-screen to on-screen transformation of Vijay has surprised a lot of his co-stars in the past. Hema Rukmani, who watched him perform at close quarters in Europe, was taken aback by the firebrand performer in him the moment the camera started rolling. "In Chennai, I mostly had to witness his performance live on the monitor since hundreds of people will surround him. But in Europe, I got the chance to behold the magic. It was such a revelation for me when the calm Vijay would transform into something else after the word 'action'. If there were any technical glitches and we ask him for one more (shot), there would always be a lovely improvisation. And his sense of continuity was unbelievable. For others, we have to remember the shot, but for him, it was never needed," said Hema. Vijay's equation with children has been a favourite theme to explore for filmmakers who have worked with him over the years. Atlee, who sketched his debut collaboration with Vijay (Theri) on a father-daughter equation, has written a magician's role in the film for the star, which is said to be a major attraction for kids. "Vijay sir insisted that he would do the magic tricks himself. There were three magicians on the set. Raman, an Indian-Canadian magician, was utterly zapped and said that Vijay sir learned the tricks faster than he did. He said he was glad that Vijay sir was not in this profession [laughs]. He possesses the style, so it was just a cakewalk for him. I guess there are around 16 magic scenes and no CGI was employed; Vijay sir entirely did the sequences by himself," revealed Hema Rukmani, about one of the three roles essayed by Vijay in the film. Prod her about the most talked-about panchayat head role played by Vijay in the film, Hema said, "When we saw him on the sets with the rudraksha and holy ashes, we seriously felt like greeting him in respect. I told him a hundred times that it's his best look. A mass hero should be an excellent performer for the audiences to believe that he is larger than life. Vijay sir is one such performer. Whenever a superstar takes on a villager's role, we like it a lot. There is some naivety about him in that part, with innate goodness." In Mersal, Vijay will be seen opposite Nithya Menen in the 50-minute flashback portion of the film. He also co-stars with Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Kajal Aggarwal, who are teaming up with him for the third time. "I think the star couple of this movie would be Vijay-Nithya Menen. Even after the film gets over, their sequences will linger in your mind. Nithya Menen represents every innocent married woman. Kajal and Vijay sir will be bubbly and cute together onscreen. It will be kind of a classy portion. Sam and Vijay sir's sequence have much importance in the film. Despite her wedding preparations, Samantha has dubbed in her own voice and done a great job," concludes Hema
The film has been confirmed to release in 3,292 screens worldwide, making it possibly the biggest ever release for a Tamil film.
With just a week to go for Vijay's Mersal, theatres across the globe are finalising screens for the film. Riding on high expectations, Mersal as of Tuesday, has been confirmed to release in 3,292 screens worldwide, making it possibly the biggest ever release for a Tamil film.
Hema Rukmani, director of Sri Thenandal Studios, the makers of the film, posted on her Twitter page on Tuesday and confirmed the screen count. The number is expected to grow in the next few days and might even touch 4,000 screens, according to reliable sources.
In Tamil Nadu, the film is expected to open in 700 screens, amid rumours that the release might be postponed due to the ongoing tussle between the Tamil Nadu Film Chamber of Commerce and the state government over double taxation. In Kerala, the film has been confirmed to open in 350 screens, surpassing the previous record held by Baahubali 2 which opened on 320 screens. Mersal, in Malaysia, is expected to release in 800 screens which is a record of sorts.
In Mersal, Vijay will be seen playing a panchayat head, a doctor, and a magician. To play the role of the magician, he was tutored by three popular magicians for the characters. They helped him learn some magic tricks. According to well-known magician Gogo Requiem, the magic potion in Mersal will be astonishing. The film, which also stars Kajal Aggarwal, Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Nithya Menen, marks the second collaboration of Atlee and Vijay. Produced by Sri Thenandal Studios, the film has music by AR Rahman and also stars SJ Suryah in a key role. Tamil movie fans have a special place for their screen idols. First day first show, festival releases are special events for fans. The popularity of Tamil superstars has reached the neighbouring states and they have a booming market in Mollywood and Tollywood.
Malayalam film Pokkiri Simon celebrates the true Tamil movie fan, where the protagonists are huge Vijay fans from Trivandrum. Sunny Wayne, Sarath Kumar and Gregory play die hard Vijay fans along side Pragya Martin who plays the female lead. The team released a special tribute video on Vijay birthday and now are planning to release a single. The song will showcase the passion of Tamil fans and capture the spirit of a fan when his hero’s film releases. The latest rumour doing the rounds in the tinsel town is that Vijay will be singing two songs in his upcoming film ‘Kaththi’. However, when we enquired, sources have confirmed that Vijay will only be singing one song and not two. It is also said Vijay is expected to record this song next week. Music for the film is scored by Anirudh and the expectations on the album are high. Directed by AR Murugadoss, Samantha plays the leading lady in the film. The first look posters of the film will be out on Vijay’s birthday, that falls on June 22. Director Chimbu Devan had Tweeted that he would soon be revealing details about the Vijay starrer. His Tweet read: “Ungaludaiya aatharavukku migavum nandri. Details about my film with Vijay would be revealed soon :-)”
After wrapping up AR Murugadoss’ Kaththi, Vijay will move ahead to this project and there have been various rumours about the star cast in it. In an effort to put an end to it all, the director has stated that he would soon be coming out with authentic information about this project. Well, fans are certainly eager to know about the female lead in this film particularly as rumour mills state that Deepika Padukone and Shruti Haasan are in talks. Vijay starrer Jilla took a very big opening on the day of its release, January 10th, 2014 and has now reached its 100th day. With films hardly managing to stay at the theatres for not more than a few days, it is indeed a very big achievement. In order to celebrate this success, a grand 100th day function is being held at the Albert Theatre in Chennai today, April 18th, 2014. Vijay, of course, will be gracing the event, and many other film celebrities are also expected to make it to the function. Jilla has been directed by Nesan and also starred Mohanlal and Kajal Agarwal in important roles. If sources are to be believed, Vijay may agree to star in the remake of the all-time hit film Enga Veetu Pillai, starring the legendary actor MGR. Ilayathalapathy had said in several interviews that the film is one of his favourites, which indicates that he is eyeing to star in the remake. And now there is another buzz that director Selva Bharathy, who had directed Vijay in films like Vaseegara and Priyamanavale, is likely to remake Enga Veetu Pillai. It would be interesting to see if Vijay and Selva Bharathy will be teaming up again. Vijay starrer Kaththi is progressing very well with the director had wrapped up a schedule in Hyderabad recently. Sources close to the team reveal that director AR Murugadoss has massive plans for this film and wants the climax to be extraordinary. It is said that for the climax fight in the film, the director has planned to erect a massive set on the lines of the ones done in Hollywood. This set will cost the producer around 1 crore, say sources. We also hear that this climax fight will be the highlight in Kaththi and Vijay fans will simply go berserk seeing their idol thrashing the baddies. Vijay’s ‘Kaththi’, directed by AR Murugadoss is progressing at a brisk pace. A new controversy about the movie has cropped up now. It is being stated that Subaskaran Allirajah of Lyca Productions, who happens to be one of the producers of this film, is a close associate of Sri Lankan President Rajapakshe.
Few Tamil organizations have asked Vijay as to why he accepted to do this film in the first place. It is worth mentioning that the screening of ‘Inam’ was stopped recently after such a protest. We will have to wait and see how ‘Kaththi’ team tackles this issue. |
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