“Thuppakki was a hit. But we didn’t name our next film Kaththi to make it sound like a series. The title justifies the film here,” clarifies director-producer AR Murugadoss in a recent interview to the Tamil magazine – Ananda Vikatan. “Vijay plays two roles – that of Kathiresan and Jeevanandham. This is not a father-son story or a gangster flick. The whole film is set in Chennai,” the filmmaker further reveals.
“When I first narrated the script to Vijay, he sent me a text – ‘Super na!’ Vijay hadn’t responded this way even for Thuppakki. I assure you Vijay has never done a role like this before,” he promises.
Evidently impressed by Samantha’s performance, Murugadoss says she quite exceeded his expectations in the bubbly role of Geetha. And the director had a word of praise for Anirudh as well. “He had the theme music ready even before we went on floors,” he says about the recent motion poster that features the track.
Murugadoss boasts of an impressive success rate in Tamil and Hindi; so comparisons are inevitable. “I’m a fan of Shankar’s work. His approach and the hard work he puts in, has always been an inspiration for all. If you still want to pit us against each other, Shankar surely wins hands down,” he smiles.
When asked about his next project with Ajith after Dheena, he says, “I had met him thrice after Thuppakki, but the project is getting delayed due to various reasons. I’m ready to start next month if he okays the script.”
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How about a film with both Ajith and Vijay in the lead role? “Well it will be a difficult project, but I could get a script ready in a month if both of them are willing to come together,” Murugadoss proposes.
The filmmaker listed Onaayum Aattukuttiyum and Pannaiyarum Padminiyum among his recent favourites. Dhanush, Sivakarthikeyan and Vijay Sethupathy are among the heroes who have caught the director’s eye. “Especially Vijay Sethupathy,” he elaborates. “The ease with which he delivers dialogues makes it feel like an everyday conversation rather than rehearsed lines. I shall definitely be doing films with them all in future.”