Recently, Gautham Karthik, who is doing four films almost simultaneously — <i>Yennamo Yedho, Vai Raja Vai, Sippai</i> and <i>Indrajith </i> — got himself a black Harley Davidson. Since then, he has been regularly going on long rides on his bike, sometimes even as far as Udhagamandalam. He has been receiving many requests from his well-wishers to not attempt such long rides. Has he faced pressure from producers too? “Dhanu keeps telling me not to ride too far. But, I don’t go on long drives without protective gear — knee cap, helmet (with Bluetooth), riding suit et al. I tend to be extra careful,” says Gautham. While he likes riding the Harley for the pleasure of it, he doesn’t see himself doing the bike stunts himself in his films. “I am not that kind of a biker,” he says. He is passionate about something else too: music. “I was part of a blues band in college, which I had to leave after I became an actor. Even today I jam with the city band Incarceration. Some day, I want to sing for myself,” says the self-taught guitarist.
It is always tricky to write a film around a protagonist with a disorder. For, the number of films that have misinformed the public has been many. But Thiru, director of <i>Naan Sigappu Manidhan</i>, in which Vishal plays a guy with narcolepsy, maintains he has been careful about what’s depicted. “This is not a medical documentary. However, the underlying intention to make this film was to create awareness about the disorder.” Thiru says that he got interested in it after watching YouTube videos. “When I started learning more about it, I was able to see how difficult it would be to live with such a condition.”
Here’s a nugget on Superstar’s approach to <i>Kochadaiiyaan</i>. Apparently, Rajinikanth has not asked for any change or modification of the content for <i>Kochadaiiyaan</i>. He has told the team not to compromise on any aspect. “It takes a lot of guts to do something like that,” says the film’s sound designer, Resul Pookutty. As for the film’s content, he says, “There is a heart in it. Its narrative is closer to ours even though the technology is not exactly ours. This film talks about brotherhood, family, righteousness — some of the values that kids must be taught.”
