What it is about…
Modern Cinema's Udumban is a film with a social message. The lyrics of two great poets Bharathidasan and Pattukottai Kalyanasundaram find place here. Popular biker Dilip Rogger plays the lead with Sana and Keethika. Produced by S. Jagananthan, the film is written and directed by S. Balan who has also scored the music. The camera has been handled by Kichaas, editing by V. T. Vijayan and art by Sivayadav. The audio CD of the film was released in the presence of 20 poets. Pulamai Pithan and Abdul Rahman released the first CD which was received by Mannar Mannan (son of Bharathidasan) and K. Kumaravelu (son of Pattukottai Kalyanasundaram).
Music highlights
There are eight songs in the film. Five are written by Bharathidasan, two by Pattukottai Kalyanasundaram and one, a remix version from a collection by Ramji. Of the songs penned by Bharathidasan, ‘Kaattrilellam,' sung by Hariharan and Sadhana Sargam, is the best. ‘Pallikoodam Muthal Mani,' sung by Anuradha Sriram and Hariharan, comes next. The third place goes to ‘Vaanukku Nilavu,' a solo sung by Shankar Mahadevan. The fourth is ‘Kandavudan Kaathal' sung by Hariharan, which is a blend of rock, pop and classical. And the last is ‘Paazhaai Pona Manam' sung by Shankar Mahadevan and Priya. Pattukottai Kalyanasundaram's two numbers, ‘Nallarukkum Pollarukkum' and ‘Oram Kizhinjalum' rendered by Mukesh, are pleasant.
What they say...
Producer S. Jagananthan: We took three years to shoot the film mainly because we wanted it to be as authentic as possible. If it rained during a shoot, we would wait for months for the land to dry up before resuming work. The film, shot in a village, has a message conveyed subtly.
Music director and director S. Balan: This is the first film where we can see the creature Udumbu (monitor lizard). Though the charm of the film lies in its rural flavour, I have ensured it has not lost out on entertainment value. Hence, there are eight songs and six fight sequences. We have used live instruments in the songs and the background score. Some new instruments have been used in the rhythm section.
Hero Dilip Rogger: For a biker like me, everything about the film was a new experience — the most important being the dance and action sequences for which I had to train for nearly six months. I portray a variety of emotions in the course of the film. I enjoyed shooting for it in the interior villages of Madurai and Karaikudi.
