Jayam Ravi, at the press meet of his upcoming film Vanamagan, addressed the issue of film piracy with a fervent appeal: “You can put up the film on the Internet if you want. But, if you are a Thamizhan, you wouldn’t do such a thing,” he declared.
The actor plays a tribal leader residing in the jungle in AL Vijay’s film, and stars opposite newcomer Sayesha Saigal. Speaking about working with Vijay, the actor said, “Vijay has gone about 30 percent extra with the budget to achieve his dream project. Only someone as passionate as him could have done this. If it fails, I vow not to charge any money from him when I work with him next. I’m telling all of this to the press so that it goes on record,” he added.
Jayam Ravi, who appeared to be in high spirits at the press meet, was all praises for his 19-year-old co-star too. “She’s got everything going that will make her popular in Tamil cinema. I welcome her to the industry. She’s a fast learner and managed to pick up a lot while filming,” he said. Sayesha plays a modern girl called Kavya who gets involved with Jayam’s character.
Music composer Harris Jayaraj too, was the subject of effusive praise from Ravi. “It’s his 50th project and I couldn’t be more proud. Harris’ best works happened to be two of my films – Engeyum Kaadhal (2011) and Dhaam Dhoom (2008). I feel his work here is equally great. I hear his songs being played on the radio and TV channels all the time.”
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Director Vijay, overcome by all the praises, highlighted the issues faced by producers. “Tamil cinema’s future has a big question mark now. I’ve been speaking to the Producer Council president Vishal about this. Producer wise, there needs to be a proper, organised system. Telugu cinema has it, and they have been doing well with a more systematic approach for the producers. Take Dil Raju for instance. He’s been there for a long time and continues to do well,” he said.
Vanamagan is all set to release on June 23. The film has action by Stunt Silva and stars Thambi Ramiah, Prakash Raj, Ramya Subramanian, and entrepreneur Sam Paul. The project is bankrolled by Thing Big Studios.