They are back. Vetri Maaran, Dhanush and GV Prakash Kumar, who gave us Polladhavan and Aadukalam, are coming together for the third time for Asuran , the audio launch of which was unveiled on Wednesday. Initially, Vetri Maaran toyed with the idea of working on the sequel to Vada Chennai , which opened to rave reviews last year. However, the National Award-winning filmmaker felt that he needed a break from Vada Chennai ’s universe and thought of revisiting it later. And that’s how Asuran happened, he said. “When I pitched this idea to Dhanush, he was quite kicked about it. Most actors of his age would have preferred playing the son’s character. But Dhanush said he wants to play the father’s character — a challenge he took upon himself as an actor,” said Vetri Maaran, also taking a dig at himself for making Asuran , releasing on October 4, as a quick follow up to Vada Chennai . Asuran has two songs — ‘Kathari Poovazhagi’ and ‘Polladha Boomi’ — both has folk-ish tunes and is composed by GV Prakash Kumar.
‘Dhanush is my shield’
Based on the Tamil novel ‘Vekkai’ written by Poomani, the movie tracks the journey of a 48-year-old Sivaswamy (played by Dhanush) and the issues faced by his family consisting of his wife (played by Manju Warrier) and two sons (Ken and Teejay). Ever wondered how Vetri Maaran comes up with strong narratives, without compromising on the art side? He credits a couple of his regulars for acting as his “shield”, subconsciously helping him in his creative process. “Dhanush is my biggest shield. Whatever be the situation, he creates a space for me to work. This has been the case since our first film,” he said, adding that cinematographer Velraj and his assistant director Manimaran are among his other shields.
Dhanush began his speech by admitting that Asuran is an important film for him. He also wondered what more could Vetri Maaran do for him, after writing a compelling film like Vada Chennai . “Vetri has been giving me cult films ever since we started working together. When he made Vada Chennai , I thought it was his best. But now, he has exceeded my expectations with Asuran .” The movie boasts of a league of actors including Manju Warrier, Pasupathy, Aadukalam Naren, Pawan Kumar, Balaji Sakthivel and Prakash Raj, who plays a cameo role of a lawyer. Speaking about his co-star Manju Warrier, Dhanush said that he was in awe of her acting. “I used to admire Nagesh sir’s acting during Kadhal Kondein days. But he told me, ‘If you can tell someone’s acting, then that’s not acting at all’. Likewise, you’ll never know when Manju Warrier is acting,” he said. The audio launch also witnessed a rare moment when Vetri Maaran called his assistants on the stage, thanking them for their contribution.
National Award fiasco
One question that followed Dhanush like a shadow was: ‘Why was Vada Chennai snubbed at National Awards 2019?’ Reacting to the criticism around the jury members ignoring the Tamil film industry, Dhanush said he was “disappointed” at first, adding, “We thought of names like Jackson [ Vada Chennai ], Mari Selvaraj [ Pariyerum Perumal ], Ram Kumar [ Ratchasaan ] and Merku Thodarchi Malai . These guys were deserving. But at the same time, we don’t make movies for awards. If it reaches the audience, then that’s more than enough.”
