What it is about
Naan Thaan Bala features Vivek, Venkatraj, Swetha ‘Cell’ Murugan, Mayilsamy, Thennavan and Sujatha. The film, produced by J.A.Lawrence for SSS Entertainments, has been written and directed by R. Kannan. The story is based on the friendship between a Brahmin youth and a paid killer. The cinematography is by Alagiya Manavalan, while the music has been scored by Venkat Krishi. Editing has been done by V.Vijay, art is by Vijayakumar and the stunts have been choreographed by ‘Super’ Subburayan. The trailer was launched by director K.Balachandar and received by director Bharatiraja. while the audio was released by music director A.R.Rahman and received by director Mani Ratnam in the presence of director Vikraman, president, Tamil Film Directors Council and director Keyar, president, Tamil Film Producers Council.
What they say
Producer J.A.Lawrence: I am a businessman from the UAE and this is my debut film. When the director narrated the story to me, I was impressed and at once agreed to back the venture. I feel the movie will be a hit with the audience.
Director R. Kannan: I was working as a co-director with director Bala and am director ‘Annakili’ Selvaraj’s brother. When I decided on the story, I wanted Vivek to play the lead role as I felt he was essential to the film’s success.
Hero Vivek: It is a serious role sans comedy. I did considerable research into Vaisnava culture to play my character to the satisfaction of the director. After 25 years as an actor, I was keen on playing a serious role and I am confident my performance will bring me credit.
Music director Venkat Krishi: I am a guitarist, but also learnt to play the drums and the keyboard, thanks to my late cousin Sivakumar. I’ve also done a few examinations in theory of music. My first film was Ammaiyappa in Tamil. Later, I composed the music for 150 devotional albums, and 22 movies in Kannada and Telugu. Naan Thaan Bala is a powerful story with several incidents to make it an enjoyable movie.
Music highlights: Of the six songs in the album, ‘Uyire’ sung by Srinivas and Priyadharshi Ram and written by Na. Muthukumar, is the best. ‘Ariyama’ written by the same lyricists, is excellently rendered by Madhu Balakrishnan. Priya sisters have sung two traditional numbers heard at marriages — ‘Bhojanam’ and Kanmani Penmani’. ‘Amma Romba’, sung by Baby Lokeswari Prabhu, is enchanting. ‘Eruna Rayiluthan’, written by Ilaiyakammban and sung by Haricharan and Suchitra, is also a fine composition.
