With Chekka Chivantha Vaanam, Mani Ratnam has gone back to his Nayakan days, said music composer and the director’s collaborator for the past 26 years, A.R. Rahman at the audio launch of the movie on Wednesday.
The event was accompanied by a live performance by the composer where he launched two singles from the movie – ‘Mazhai Kuruvi’ and ‘Bhoomi Bhoomi’. The former has been sung by the composer himself and is a romantic track centered on Ethi and Chaaya – the characters played by Silmbarasan and Dayana Erappa while the latter is sung by Shakthisree Gopalan.
The event, was hosted by singers Kathick and Chinmayi Sripada, and was attended by the lead cast including Arvind Swamy, Aditi Rao Hydari, Arun Vijay, Aishwarya Rajesh, Silambarasan and Dayana Erappa. The movie also stars Vijay Sethupathi, Prakash Raj, Jyothika, Jayasudha and Thiagarajan.
Vairamuthu who penned the lyrics was also part of the event. Putting his wry sense of humour on display while stating that Mani Ratnam hasn’t changed a bit, he said, “30 years back, I could get gold for Rs. 1,000 and petrol for Rs 7. Look at the state of these things now. But Mani has braved success and failure for the past 35 years and has managed to stay the same.”
He also remembered director K. Balachander during the occasion and said that the director was like a ‘Bheeshmar’ and Tamil Nadu should never forget him.
The event bore witness to the unfolding of a lot of trivia too. Arvind Swamy who plays ‘Varadhan’ revealed that contrary to popular belief, Chekka Chivantha Vaanam was his eighth and not sixth association with Mani Ratnam. Apart from starring in six movies, he had dubbed for the director’s Dil Se and sung for Iruvar.
Silmbarasan, who didn’t speak much during the occasion, maintained that it was best to leave all the talking for the movie to do while Arun Vijay who plays ‘Thyagu’ in the movie said that Mani Ratnam had the energy of a debut director.
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When asked about the most special song to have born out of their collaborations, Rahman picked ‘Kannaalane‘ from Bombay while Mani Ratnam went with ‘Tamizha Tamizha’ from Roja. The director, during the occasion, also stressed on the need to surround oneself with the right technicians – a process that he claims to do religiously.
The director’s long time collaborators – Santosh Sivan and Sreekar Prasad take care of the cinematography and editing departments of the movie. The movie releases on September 28.
Read: ‘Mazhai Kuruvi’ & ‘Bhoomi Bhoomi’: Two Songs From ‘Chekka Chivantha Vaanam’ Released