Rajini’s happy, rest is up to fans: K.S. Ravi Kumar

K.S. Ravi Kumar says Rajinikanth was very keen that Lingaa release in 2014.

In the last few days, fans across Tamil Nadu have been all agog over the release of the Rajinikanth-starrer Lingaa on Friday. The film is Rajinikanth’s first live-action film in over three years. The credit must go to director K.S. Ravi Kumar, who has worked tirelessly over the last 9 months to make it happen.

Ravi Kumar said that in March, Rajinikanth agreed to do the film on one condition: the film must release on Deepavali day. The intention, said Ravi Kumar, was to give his fans something to cheer for in 2014 as they have waited for the last three years to watch him on the big screen.

While Ravi Kumar is not someone to wriggle out of a challenge, he knew it wasn’t realistically doable. “Back in March, we didn’t even have the abc’s of the film ready,” he said. So, he told Rajinikanth that he would get the film ready by December. “In March and April, the script was written and we started shooting in May. Since March, we all have worked for 20 hours a day to complete the film,” he said.

Much has changed in the 15 years since the duo collaborated on

Padayappa. Rajinikanth is an even bigger money-spinner than in the 90s and political parties are still waiting for him to take the bait and enter politics. “It is true that there has been a gap, but we have always wanted to work with each other. But, every time we started something — Jaggu Bhai or Rana — something came up,” he said. Though he may be big today, I have always concentrated on the script without going against his Superstar image,” he added.

When Ravi Kumar made Muthu (1995) after the smash hit Basha , it had several overt messages about Rajinikanth’s possible entry into politics. The same was the case with Padayappa .

The plot of

Lingaa too has contemporary relevance. The news that Rajinikanth plays a character resembling John Pennycuick, a British engineer instrumental in building the Mullaperiyar dam, has set off expectations that the film is about politics. Ravi Kumar flatly denied this though. He said there is no political subtext in Lingaa and any political subtexts in previous films were also entirely unintended. “This is not a political film. There will be nothing in

Lingaa which is beyond the scope of the story. Even the dialogues have been written keeping in mind the dynamics of the plot. Of course, there have been times when the audience has interpreted something I never intended to be political in a different way,” he said.

While his tired eyes might suggest that Lingaa is by far the toughest assignment of his career, he said he has seen worse. “I have worked non-stop for 7 days in Ajith’s Varalaru . It is true that all of those I worked with are busy technicians and to extract work out of them could be difficult. It is all about how you plan and execute it,” he says.

Along with working round the clock, he has also been fighting a legal battle over allegations of plot theft. “The story (by Pon Kumaran) is inspired by the character and life of John Pennycuick. I have based my screenplay on the story. The final version is significantly different from the story. Something needs to be done to prevent such court cases. We will fight it,” he said.

It was reported that Rajinikanth had a chance to see the film on Wednesday. Did he like it? “He was very happy. Now, it is up to the audience,” said Ravi Kumar.