Dhanush is superstar material: Soundarya Rajinikanth

Soundarya Rajinikanth on recreating the world of VIP, and why her father is clued into technology

July 22, 2017 03:41 pm | Updated 08:02 pm IST

CHENNAI: TAMIL NADU: 18/07/2017: Soundarya Rajinikanth at an interview to The Hindu Metro Plus in Chennai on Tuesday.  Photo: V. Ganesan.

CHENNAI: TAMIL NADU: 18/07/2017: Soundarya Rajinikanth at an interview to The Hindu Metro Plus in Chennai on Tuesday. Photo: V. Ganesan.

Dhanush, Amala Paul, Vivek, Samuthirakani... all these actors were part of VIP , which was a blockbuster. They’re all in VIP2 too. How did Soundarya get on board?

I was initially working on a film titled Nilavuku En Mel Ennadi Kobam — a script that was written by Dhanush. For some reason, I couldn’t put together the right casting for that project. Dhanush was shooting for Kodi then, and he had written the first draft of VIP2 which he shared with me . I felt that it was an amazing sequel to a world that he had created. Once I spoke to Thanu sir (producer), one thing led to the other, and VIP2 fell in place .

You come from an animation background — which helped you make Rajinikanth’s motion capture film Kochadaiiyaan . But VIP2 is a full-fledged commercial film. Were you reluctant to explore that?

I have always been wired to think commercially, and was confident that I would be able to pull it off. As a director and creative person, I have equally enjoyed working on Kochadaiiyaan and VIP2.

While doing Kochadaiiyaan , there were three aspects to you — filmmaker, daughter and fan. Here too, there are three aspects — filmmaker, brother-in-law and I’m sure, fan. Isn’t that a lot of pressure?

Dhanush is, professionally speaking, so much senior to me. Off the set, we’re very good friends and creatively compatible, but on floor, he’s the writer and actor, and I’m the director. So, we were clear from the beginning that we would agree to disagree.

 

When you took up VIP2 , Dhanush was already a director — with Power Paandi . Was there a fear that your project might be ghost-directed by him?

I certainly hope not. From what you can see in the trailer, it looks bigger, much bigger than VIP . In this, I had to give instructions to so many filmmakers — my cameraman is a director, Samuthirakani is a director and Dhanush is a director too! But, there can be only one captain of the ship and I’m thankful to all of them for trusting me with that role.

Is there a method Dhanush uses to get into the skin of the character?

All you have to do is explain the scene you’re going to shoot, and he gets into it so instantly that you end up admiring the person on the monitor. During VIP2 , he was doing three projects simultaneously; but he brought the same Raghuvaran from the original alive. While dubbing, there was a scene we finished, and he insisted he attempt it once more after watching the first part... as he wanted to make sure he sounded like Raghuvaran. I’m in awe of the actor in him.

There was talk that Kajol’s character was originally written for Rajinikanth — something you have refuted. At what stage did a female antagonist (Vasundhara Parameshwar) come into the scheme of things?

On paper, it was always Raghuvaran v/s Vasundhara. During initial script discussions, we thought of Kajol — she was our first choice for this role. I was in school when she did Minsara Kanavu , and I can never forget the effect she had on the audience.

The decision to replace music composer Anirudh with Sean Roldan for VIP2 has turned a few heads. Your take?

Nobody was replaced. Each project demands a set of technicians; this demanded a particular sound. During discussions, we knew Dhanush was working with Sean on the music of his Power Paandi and it made sense for this film to have his sound too. But we have retained the signature tunes of Anirudh from part one.

How often do you think about your previous film, Kochadaiiyaan ?

It will remain a dear project. But today, if I had to redo it, I would do it as a part-live part-CG film. I felt people expected to see Appa live at some point in the film, and they were disappointed they didn’t.

You’re into animation and technology, but how well-versed is Rajinikanth? There was a recent video in which he’s searching for the button to take a selfie video...

(laughs) That was so cute; he was making sure it was on record! Appa is amazing with technology — he is completely aware of the process, time and budget involved in it, having worked in Kochadaiiyaan and now 2.0 .

Do you think Dhanush is the next Superstar of Tamil cinema?

I certainly think Dhanush sir has everything in him to become a superstar. I will not say the next , because there is only one Superstar. And that’s my father.

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