Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Victory March - THE HINDU
Invariably, all my interactions with the Ilaiya Thalapathi have had me doing most of the talking! A poser that ran into a few sentences was rarely fielded in a similar fashion. Reply was almost always restricted to a couple of words! Slightly different this time as I shoot questions about Velayudham , which is ready to roll out this Deepavali, he fields them with cheer. Laughs Vijay: “Basically, I'm reticent. To the extent that some find it exasperating. But that's my nature. All the same, I do share all the relevant material with you, don't I? And how can I go on and on about my own work?”
Yet Vijay was quite articulate at the audio release of the film in Madurai and even sang the opening lines of a Velayudham number, which had the star-struck crowd going crazy! “That's cultivated, to please fans who want me to croon a couple of lines every time I'm on stage. Otherwise I prefer to remain low-key,” he says.
Taking risks
Director Raja had spoken to me at length about the risks Vijay has taken for Velayudham . In the name of authenticity, many heroes court danger while enacting action sequences. “Risk, yes, but it's not recklessness,” contends Vijay. “Whether it is the stuntmen or the heroes, these days ample precaution is taken to ensure their safety. Of course, mistiming could lead to accidents.” As it happened in his case when he jumped off a high rise for Piriyamudan and was confined to bed for 45 days. “Yeah, as I said, the calculation went wrong,” he shrugs. “And do you know the doctors had given up on me and said I might not be able to walk ever?” Yet why does he resort to such daredevilry? Even in Badri, he let a huge container lorry run over his hands. It was a much talked about scene then!
Surely, despite all the boldness he should be experiencing the jitters while actually performing the stunts. “As I said, enough safety measures are taken and when my body double can do it, why can't I, is the thought that spurs me on. And no, I don't develop cold feet at all.”
Spontaneous humour
Vijay may look sedate and serious, but he has been part of some unforgettable rib-tickling situations on screen. Who can forget the hilarity he provided in Friends , Ghilli and also in this year's January fiesta, Kaavalan ? “Comedy, when contrived, is bound to fall flat. Even while going through the lines I can gauge whether it would work with our audiences. Spontaneity will be a scoring point in the comedy concepts we've enacted in Velayudham .”
And in classics such as Kaadhalukku Mariyaadhai and Kannukkul Nilavu , Vijay proved that he can be equally effective in sentiment. Does Velayudham offer him scope for another such sober, underplayed portrayal? “Yeah, we have a few sequences, where both sentiment and action are the highlights. ‘When you strike the villain with all your might to give vent to your pent up anger, the audience should feel the adrenaline rush. The empathy will surely translate into positive results,' my dad [director S.A. Chandrasekaran] tells me often. I feel the audience will experience it in Velayudham .”
On and off, Vijay turns singer for his films. Did he feel he could have sung a number for Velayudham , particularly when he listened to ‘Mulachu Moonu …' a chartbuster? “Not exactly, but I like the ‘Maayam Seidhaayo' piece too. They have been beautifully captured on screen. Priyan, the cinematographer, has been an asset to Velayudham . The speed at which he operates is incredible,” certifies Vijay. And in the same vein adds, “I've followed Raja's films and found him to be an astute filmmaker. Remakes aren't easy and the amount of originality he weaves into his scripts impresses me. Working with him in Velayudham has only reinforced my opinion.”
The year began with a bang for Vijay when Kaavalan , which had a trying time finding its way to the cinemas, eventually, turned up trumps. Velayudham is Vijay's second release in 2011 and going by the buzz, should be another winner for the hero. “Again to quote my dad, ‘If the base of a line is strong, none can stop its run.' The premise is a highpoint of Velayudham ,” he smiles.
His audiences include men, women and children both young and old, besides a formidable fan base of hardcore loyalists. During an earlier meeting Vijay had told me, “I give my audience what I as a movie goer like to watch on screen.” So did he enjoy watching Velayudham ? “Sure, I did,” he says, pauses for a moment and asks, “I don't sound over-confident, do I?” That's another interesting facet of this matinee idol — the reassurance he seeks despite his words being measured.
Comedy, when contrived, is bound to fall flat. Even while going through the lines I can gauge whether it would work. Spontaneity will be a scoring point in the comedy concepts in Velayudham
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Sunday, October 9, 2011
NANBAN Rights to SUN PICTURES
Nanban has turned the talk of the tinsel town as it is one of the prestigious films being made with a huge budget and ensemble cast. Buzz in the tinsel is that there are more chances for Kalanidhi Maaran’s ‘Sun Pictures’ to bag the distribution rights of Nanban. It is learnt that Shankar has engaged Sun Studios for the Nanban Computer Graphic works and other major portions shooting. So taking this into consideration rumor is milling that Sun Pictures may hold the rights of the film. But it scan be noted here that recently Sun Pictures has dropped the distribution rights of Bala’s forthcoming film Avan Ivan which was initially taken by them.
This is because of the change of guard at the state level that has changed the fate of many films. If Nanban is taken by Sun Pictures one of the biggest market leaders in Kollywood it’s sure that the film will add much more elegance through its strategic promotions.
Nanban is produced by Raju Easwaran and T. Muthuraj under the banner of Gemini Film Circuit.
Nanban is tentatively slated for its release on 26 October 2011.
Let’s wait and see whether Sun Pictures bags the rights of Nanban one of the prestigious films of Kollywood.
Velayudham director wants to wait
Jeyam Raja is being peppered with questions about Velayudham, Vijay's next big release. The director has said that he wants to wait before making any official announcements as the film has to be cleared by the censors. They will be viewing the film on the 17th or 18th of this month and he is keeping his fingers crossed.Once the verdict from the censors is out, Jeyam Raja says that promotional activities will commence. And the film is expected to release shortly so all questions will be answered then.
Friday, October 7, 2011
VIJAY will Worik With Director Vijay.......
Director Vijay would work with actor Vijay is a longtime buzz, which is likely to become a reality soon. If sources are to be believed, the Ilayathalapathy is keen to join hands with the 'Madrasapattinam' and 'Deiva Thirumagal' director, sometime next year.
"By the first quarter of 2012, both would become free, as the actor would complete Yohan Adhyayam Ondru with Gautham Vasudev Menon and the director would finish off his yet-to-be-titled film with Vikram. They would start their project after that," sources say.
Remember circles close to Vijay said recently that his forthcoming films would be with established directors alone, as the actor wants to deliver handful of big hits in the next five years, before he would start focusing on politics in a full-fledged manner.
Apparently proving this, Vijay's next 'Velayudham' is directed by 'Jayam' Raja, 'Nanban' by Shankar and 'Yohan Adhyayam Ondru' by Gautham Vasudev Menon. In contrary, in the last couple of years, two of his films ('Vettaikaran' and 'Sura') were with budding directors.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
VELAYUTHAM NEW RECORD - 'THE HINDU'
FACE TO FACE The audio of Vijay's Velayudham is a hit and its composer Vijay Antony is a happy man, writes malathi rangarajan Within minutes of reaching the market, the audio of Velayudham recorded an unprecedented sell-out. More than a lakh CDs on the first day of release is an incredible figure, and naturally I'm curious about the reaction of the man behind the music — Vijay Antony. Particularly because Antony is one music director who doesn't mince words when he says he's had no formal training in the art. “I don't know how I do it,” is all he has to say when queried about his creative skill!
Success is on a fast track for this composer-lyricist-singer-turning-actor. After a spate of hits, the response to his songs for Velayudham has touched a new high! He laughs, “I work for every film with the same amount of diligence. But here it is also the draw of the hero that's working magic for my music.”
At the launch of the album in Madurai, Vijay, the leading man of Velayudham, proved for the nth time that he's a veritable crowd-puller. And when he announced that each Vijay Antony number should be a rollicking hit, the audience cheered in assent. Vijay then went on to sing a couple of lines of ‘Sonna Puriyaadhu' from the new album, and the people went delirious with joy. “Vijay loved the songs. The 20-minute teaser we had circulated on the net also helped,” says Antony.
Director Raja, Vijay and Vijay Antony as a team, is new. “I can't thank Raja enough. I just gave him one tune for each lyric. He liked them all,” smiles Antony. Generally, directors listen to several options before they zero in on one. “As a composer, I only give directors tunes I'm happy with. I was thrilled to see our tastes converge at the same point.” But among the songs, the melody of ‘Mulachu Moonu' is the most mesmerising. Viveka's verses for the number are equally splendid.
Antony has this practice of plumping for new voices and lyricists. All aspiring singers have to do is mail their voices to vijayantonymusic@gmail.com “I get back to them if I find the timbre impressive. I don't accept CDs. The ‘Mulachu Moonu' you tell me about has been sung by Supriya Joshi from Mumbai. She sent a demo by mail and I asked her to come down for the recording,” he says.
This composer is himself a singer, and invariably the songs turn out to be chartbusters. The most recent is ‘Oh my Angel,' a favourite on FM. Now, two of Velayudham's songs are in Antony's voice. “It isn't planned. Once a composition is complete I sing the track and send it to the director. He sometimes suggests I record them in my voice, and I go ahead.”
Composing a tune, giving it to the lyricist and getting the words for it, is the norm. Very rarely it works the other way too, with the words coming first, and the composer lending a tune to them. Vijay Antony always prefers the latter. “I interact a lot with the lyric writer. His diligence and the concept are primary. Then the rest fall in place,” he reasons. Probably it is this rapport that has made Annamalai, the wordsmith of Antony hits such as ‘En Uchi Mandaiyila' and ‘Benares Pattu Katti,' pen a couple of songs for Velayudham. “He's talented and we vibe well,” says Antony.
Mention Vijay Antony and the strange words in his refrains are bound to come to mind — ‘Naaku Mooka,' ‘Aathi Choodi' … You now hear it in the Velayudham piece — ‘Chillax' (!) begins the number. Is it a cultivated Vijay Antony stamp? Antony disagrees. “I intend relegating such rigmarole to the background for a while because my melodies get buried in the bargain. All the same, on the very day of the audio release everyone in the crowd screamed ‘Chillax.' So the draw of such usages is obvious,” he grins.
He must be tracking his listeners' choices to know their pulse so well. “Of course, social networking is essential. The feedback helps me grow. And it's a real stress buster. When I knew that without my knowledge responses were being circulated on websites in my name, I decided to plunge into it myself. Now www.facebook.com/vijayantonyinfo is my fan page. My updates are lapped up in a jiffy and I'm thrilled. I'm active on Twitter too. So in no time I could gauge that Velayudham music had caught on!”
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Vijay's next with Murugadoss to kick start soon
Just a couple of weeks back tabloids were brimming with the news about the next hottest dame in the Tamil film industry, Angela Johnson, who would be debuting as a heroine, as Vijay�s arm candy, in this Murugadoss film. Well recently, a photo shoot took place involving Vijay and Angela in the city with ace cinematographer Santosh Sivan canning the shoots.
It looks like Murugadoss is absolutely happy with the results of the photo shoot, and is doing everything under his power to keep his new find (Angela Johnson) low-profile. Sources close to people associated with this project reveal that Harris Jayaraj might be roped in to tune songs for this film, though nothing on this regard has been confirmed yet.. The flick will be produced by Vijay's home productions banner under his father SAC along with Aascar Ravichandran.
The top brass of this upcoming venture will soon meet the press to confirm about the cast and crew as well as to divulge information regarding about the project.
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