Looks like the Rajini hit 'Murattu Kaalai' that’s being remade after 25 years is going to be special for more reasons than one. At a meet the press initiative, the makers of the film revealed several details of the film that is going to star Sundar C and Sneha.
Return vehicle
This is going to be return vehicle of producer Gunanidhi Amirtham who is related to the Chief Minister and is the son of P Amirtham, VP Kalaignar TV. Gunanidhi had taken a brief hiatus of 13 years from film production and is now returning to the big screen with Murattu Kaalai. Said he, “This film is under my newly made Soorya Productions banner. Earlier, I had produced films like Madurai Meenakshi and Manasu Rendum Pudasu besides telefilms for Radaan and Sun apart from teleserials Bhavani and Sivaranjani under the Poomalai Productions banner. Later I left films to join as VP Surya TV but now I am now returning to film production.”
Beginning with the end
The film is slated to hit the floors on December 1, and shooting will commence with the famous train scene, which is part of the climax. Why did director K Selvabharathy choose such a tough scene to begin his film? “We took two months to get permissions for the train scene to be shot on the metre guage line between Senkottai and Tenmala. The line is the only one of its kind and will be converted into broad guage soon so we needed to finish the scenes before that happens. We are shooting on the goods trains and this has to be done live on moving trains. The railways have given us time to work only 4 hours each day, so we have to complete the shoot in around 12 days,” says Selvabharathy.
Cast and crew
The camera is being handled by Santonio, who will be using special choppers to shoot the cave sand train scenes. “We thank our generous producer Gunanidhi, who has spent Rs 40 lakhs on the train sequence alone,” says Selvabharathy. And how is Sundar C preparing for the role? “I am trying to get into shape but I am not trying to emulate anyone for the role. Ajith is my inspiration. When re-making Billa, he did not try to copy Rajni sir but did the role in his own style. I too want to do the role in my own style so I am not as tensed about it as people would expect,” says Sundar C. “Plus, my comfort level with Selvabharathy is high.” Selvabharathy has been the dialogue writer for Sundar C’s films apart from being his assistant director and now he is directing him as a hero.
The cast is made up of Sneha (playing Rathi’s role), Vivek (in Surlirajan’s role) and Suman (in Jai Shankar’s role). The hunt is still on for a gal to replace Sumalatha’s character in the original.
The film has music by Srikantha Deva and will be shot in Senkottai, Courtrallam, Pollachi, Madurai, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli and also abroad ( for songs). The original producers, AVM Productions have given the permissions required, while Rajini has been informed about the remake. The highlight is bound to be the remix of the 'Poduvaga Yen Manasu Thangam' song. In an age when only titles are being copied, this unit has set out on a brave attempt to remake a Rajini film. The mood, however, is upbeat in this camp and the confidence levels seem high enough to deliver a hit. Let’s see how the film fares from here on.
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