Kaattupuli
What is it about?
Produced and directed by Tinu Verma for Kabishek Films, it has Arjun in the lead with Biyanka Desai, Rajnish, Sayali Bhagat, Amit, Anaya, Jahan, Jennifer, Tina Sharma, Raj Premi, Tinu Verma, Baby Taniya and Master Kanishkha forming the rest of the cast. The film is shot in three languages — Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. The camera is handled by Rajendra Prasad. The music is scored by Vijay Verma, and the lyrics are written by Jayaram. The story and screenplay are Miraq Mirza and Tinu Verma. Tinu Verma is also in charge of the action sequences. Producer Thanu released the audio of Kaattupuli which was received by all the VIPs on the dais. ‘Sathyajothi' Thyagarajan, S. J.Surya, T. Siva and P. L. Thennappan were also present.
What they say...
Producer and director Tinu Verma : To suit the storyline, Kaattupuli was shot in the Thalakonam jungle.
Each day of the 40-day shoot in the forest was fraught with problems. We had brought in a number of horses for the shoot. One night, the horses kept neighing and we did not know what to do. But our horsemen said a cheetah or tiger must be near by. So we tethered all the horses near our bungalow and lit a fire around them. The film deals with how three couples who get into trouble in a jungle are saved by Arjun. When the first copy of the film was ready, I invited producer Thanu to watch it. Impressed, he said he would release the film in Tamil.
Hero Arjun: I am happy to work under the direction of Tinu Verma as he is one of the best action masters in the industry. He has won nine Filmfare awards. A big friend of Amitabh Bachchan, he has done action scenes with Superstar Rajnikanth in Maveeran . I play the role of a doctor, who comes to the forest and saves the three couples caught there. Tinu Verma is a meticulous planner — he was able to wrap up shooting in 60 days of which 40 days were spent in the woods. It was producer Thanu who conferred me with the ‘Action King' title — I am happy he is releasing the Tamil film.
Music director Vijay Verma After finishing the Hindi songs, we started work on the Tamil songs. In the presence of the director, lyricist Jayaram and Arjun, we decided to picturise one song each on the three couples in the film. Arjun chose the song that had to be shot on him. As expected, the songs have come out well.
Music highlights
The album comprises five numbers. In the voice of Anitha and Yash Kolchaa comes the entertaining song ‘Jolly Jolly'. Vanitha with R. Jeyadev sing ‘Poombharai', a melodious number. ‘Kadhal Ragam', rendered by Prasanna and Roopa Guldeep Bhai, is beautiful. Roopa also sings with Aalaapraju the pleasant ‘Thamarai Pookkaley'. The last on the list is the melody, ‘Kadhal Uyir'.
Aravaan
What is it about?
Aravaan is directed by Vasantha Balan with singer Karthik joining him for the first time as music director. The cinematography is by Siddarth. Vijaya Murugan has taken care of the art department. Aadhi, Pasupathy, Dhanshika and Archana Kavi play the lead. A period film, Aravaan will showcase Aadhi in a different role. The audio release function saw the participation of some of the bigwigs of the Tamil film industry such as K. Balachandar, T. G. Thyagarajan, Cheran, Mysskin, Vettrimaran, Samudirakani and Arivazhagan. The first cassette was released by A. R. Rahman and received by director Mani Ratnam. Both of them lavished praise on music composer Karthik and director Vasantha Balan.
What they say….
Hero Aadhi: I am happy to have acted in some really good films. First it was Mirugam, then Eeram and now Aravaan . I must thank director Vasantha Balan and producer T. Siva for giving me the lead role. It was physically exhausting — I had to work out really hard to get my six-pack. It was not just for a song or a few scenes. I was at it for nearly one-and-a-half years. This is my fifth film; it has intense emotional scenes. I'm glad that an up-and-coming actor like me is lucky to have landed a role in a big-budget film. Each and every scene is a must-watch and the storyline is interesting.
Producer T. Siva: I was happy to introduce Yuvan Shankar Raja to the film industry. Music director G. V. Prakash Kumar was introduced to the industry by director Vasantha Balan. Now both of us are introducing singer Karthik as the music director with Aravaan . He has done a very good job. I tell the cast and crew that they must be paid four times the salary they have received for Aravaan as they all have worked very hard.
Music director Karthik: Before entering the Tamil film industry I was waiting for a call from music director A. R. Rahman. Today, it is a moment of pride for me that maestro A. R. Rahman and director Mani Ratnam have come to release the audio of Aravaan , which marks my debut as the music director. The film was a real challenge as it is not the usual love story. It is a period film which has all the ingredients to make it a box office hit.
Director Vasantha Balan: If someone asked a Standard Ten student how he has written the final exam, he would say he has done it well. I would say the same about Aravaan . It all began in my house when the breeze from the fan opened the pages of Su. Venkatesh's novel “Kaval Kottai.” I sat down to read a portion of the novel and that became the film Aravaan . It was a good experience for me working on this subject. I feel I have done my work and it is for the audience to like it.
Music highlights
There are seven songs in the film, all written by Na. Muthukumar except one, ‘Oore Oore'. Penned by Viveka and sung by Mukesh, Krishna Raj, Periyakarupu Devar, Rita and Priya, ‘Oore Oore' is good. Vijaya Prakash and Harini have done a good job of ‘Nila Nila.' ‘Kalavu' is a group song rendered by a host of singers such as Mano, Kottaisami, Karunanidhi, Rahul Nambiar, M.L.R. Karthikeyan, Vijay Narayan, Malathiamma, Pasupathi and Harish. In Bhavadharini and M.L.R. Karthikeyan's voice, the song ‘Unnai Kolla Poren' comes to life. After a gap, one can get to listen to Sirgazhi Sivachidambaram sing again — he, along with Gopal Rao and Narayanan, renders the lively number ‘Nagamalai'. Subiksha has sung ‘Nandha Kumara', while the debut music director has reserved ‘Oruvan', the best of the lot, for himself.
