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That actor Jai skipped the press meet of Valiyavan was the only thing everybody wanted to talk about. When it became apparent that music composer D Imman had given the event a miss as well, speculations were rife. Director M Saravanan had a hard time managing the ensuing drama. “I’ve brought seven people from the film’s team here. But, all you want to talk about is Jai. I do not know why he has not come and perhaps, it is a personal choice of his. I cannot speak for him at the moment.”
On the other hand, the director was more than happy to explain the reason behind Imman’s absence. “There was some miscommunication about today’s plan. Imman has flown to Mumbai for a song recording and he’s very sorry to have missed speaking to you all about the very nice songs he has given us.”
There are six songs in Valiyavan, three of which have been penned by Na Muthukumar. The lanky lyricist had collaborated with Saravanan and D Imman on separate occasions, and found working on Valiyavan very comforting. “It was like going back to a close friend’s place. Saravanan has always included a song focusing on the heroine’s feelings for the hero in his movies. This film is no exception. As with every Saravanan project I’ve worked on, I hope to get awards and recognition for this one as well!”
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Andrea more than made up for Jai’s absence and was a bundle of energy onstage. She plays a banker in the movie and said of her role, “I’m not like…a serious banker or anything. That way this project has a lot of personal firsts. I’ve driven a car for the first time onscreen, it’s my first film with Jai, Saravanan and D Imman, and most importantly, I’ve got a carefree role in this one.”
This ‘light-hearted Andrea’ was apparently not something Saravanan had expected. The director admitted that he was initially very wary of the actress and was intimidated by her star status. “I hadn’t worked with an actress of her star power and was very scared of how she will react to my orders. Thankfully, she turned out to be a very down to earth person and was very dedicated to her role.”
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Dinesh Krishnan, the cinematographer for the stylish thriller, also came in for a lot of praise. “Dinesh took such care while framing shots and was able to bring to life exactly what I had envisioned. It was very easy for me to give him free rein on the creative side of things as he earned my deep admiration and respect within the first few days.”
Valiyavan will also be very unlike your usual thriller, insisted Saravanan. “There’s a lot of humour in this film but there’s no comedian. Balasaravanan plays Jai’s friend in the movie but his role cannot be termed as a typical comedian role. The humour here is organic.”
The film is currently in post-production and is scheduled to release on Valentine’s Day (February 14).
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