Maestro Ilaiyaraaja’s biopic, launched with much fanfare on Wednesday morning in Chennai, will see National Award-winning actor Dhanush playing the lead role.
It will be directed by Arun Matheswaran, who helmed the Dhanush-starrer Captain Miller, and will feature music by Mr. Ilaiyaraaja himself.
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Mr. Dhanush said, “I firmly believe in the phrase, Ennam pol vazhkai [What you think, you will become]. A lot of you might have spent several nights listening to Ilaiyaraaja’s music, but I have spent sleepless nights thinking about his life and how to portray him, and it has now manifested.”
‘Acting guru’
Stating that he aspired to portray two people on the big screen — Mr. Ilaiyaraaja and Mr. Rajinikanth — and that he is happy the first is happening now, Dhanush added, “Ilaiyaraaja’s music has not just been my companion, but also my acting guru. Before shooting, I listen to an Ilaiyaraaja song or BGM that matches the mood of the scene and that helps me deliver my performance. Playing him is not a big responsibility because his music will teach and guide me through this process.”
First-look poster launch
Kamal Haasan, a close collaborator of Mr. Ilaiyaraaja, launched the first-look poster of the film and said that he has always been in awe of Mr. Ilaiyaraaja’s music.
“This journey started with me calling him ‘Sir’ and slowly progressed to ‘ayya’ and ‘anna’. I look forward to this film’s journey,” he added.
Vetri Maaran, who worked with the composer in the 2023 movie Viduthalai , said, “There have been many changes in my life but his music has always been a constant.”
‘A magician’
Describing Mr. Ilaiyaraaja as a “magician and not a musician”, the director added, “Film music has for long been bookmarks of life’s personal history. When his life becomes a film, it’s our lives also being made into a film. It’s everyone’s film.”
Backed by Connekkt Media, P.K. Prime Production and Mercuri Movies, Ilaiyaraaja will have cinematography by Nirav Shah while production design will be handled by Muthuraj.
It will be out in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi.
Filmmakers including Bharathiraja, and Thiagarajan Kumararaja were also present.
