Endrendrum Thalaivar Superstar Rajinikanth - News & Updates

[PARAMASHIVAN]

i don't think its true. in a kumudam interview few years ago, ilayaraja mentioned that rajni refused to act in the 'amma endru azhaikatha' song as it did not suit his image. p.vasu asked IR to convince rajni. IR just made a phone call and rajni agreed to do it.

ok, I may have misunderstood it ..

[vithagan]

Panchu Arunachalam is the man who invented Rajinikanth as an actor


M Suganth | Jul 26, 2015, 12.00AM IST






Most of us know Panchu Arunachalam as the writer-producer who introduced maestro Ilaiyaraaja as a composer in films with Annakili. What few are aware of is how he helped redefine commercial Tamil cinema and shaped the then budding careers of Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan and turned them into superstars. And that is what an upcoming documentary on the life of one of the most successful writers in Tamil cinema, is going to reveal to modern-day audiences. Excerpts from an exclusive interview with National Award-winning film historian and producer G Dhananjayan, who has directed the documentary:

What made you choose Panchu Arunachalam as the subject of your documentary?
More than me choosing, it was the other way round. I was working on a documentary on film chronicler Film News Anandan. I was doing background research when the National Award was announced and I had to go to Delhi to receive the award. The first call I got when I came back was from Panchu sir's son Subbu. He had heard about the documentary on Film News Anandan and asked me if I would be willing to do something similar for his dad, who has written 100 films. I told him that I would love to do it if he will get me the dates of Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan and Ilaiyaraaja.

Can you elaborate on how you worked on the documentary?Since Panchu Arunachalam is very ill, he could talk to me at the most for two hours a day — between 5 pm and 7 pm. The documentary process is a very long one. First, you have to understand what questions you have to ask the subject when he is on camera. I started researching on him. I looked at Film News Anandan's compilation and traced all the films that Panchu sir has worked on and then went and verified it with his own list. Then, I crosschecked the facts with the DVDs of the films to see how he was credited in each and every film. Many know Panchu Arunachalam's career from Annakili, but he has worked on 13 films before that. So far, he has 99 films to his credit as a writer. In addition to these, he has written the song lyrics for over 200 films. He has written his hundredth film recently and so, this documentary is also a celebration of that landmark. It has taken 45 days so far and we have interviewed several people who have worked closely with him, including Rajinikanth, Ilaiyaraaja, Bharathiraaja, SP Muthuraman, Sivakumar, Sathyaraj, Prabhu, Radikaa, Khusbhu, Gangai Amaren among others. We will be recording Kamal Haasan. My only regret is not getting MS Viswanathan. They had worked together on songs for 15 years, and he was supposed to speak for this and reveal how they worked together with Kannadasan. But then he fell sick and we couldn't get him eventually. His passing away is the biggest loss to the documentary.

Generally, documentaries that are made here tend to be hagiographies. Will this one deal with the controversial aspects of its subject's life?
Panchu Arunachalam is a great writer, lyric writer and producer, so there was a lot of things that people had to share about him — both the good and the bad. Even though Panchu sir did not wish to speak of certain things because he did not want to hurt people or create a controversy out of this, the others spoke about those things, so this documentary will bring out many unrevealed truths. Though the intention is not to sensationalize things, the documentary will be a very honest attempt. It will talk about a person who could have become a big studio boss but remains an ordinary producer. He has created wonderful hits for stars but he never made money. Where exactly did things go wrong? That way, his life will be a good lesson to the industry. He has openly talked about his failures, and how despite being so knowledgeable about the film business, things went wrong. During the shoot of one particular episode, he completely broke down as he couldn't take the pain of reliving the harrowing experience.

What do you say is the legacy of Panchu Arunachalam apart from being the person who introduced Ilaiyaraaja?
He is the one who reinvented commercial Tamil cinema. Till 1977, MGR and Sivaji films were dominating the box office. MGR's was formula films while Sivaji's was family films. Annakili released in 1976 and folk music became a big trend. In 1977, Tamil cinema changed tracks with 16 Vayathinile, and village-based, realistic films started becoming the norm. People were apprehensive about mainstream commercial films doing well, but Panchu Arunachalam wrote Murattu Kalai in 1980 to show that commercial films are needed to reach B and C centres. And he took Kamal Haasan, who was till then considered an A-centre star, to the B and C centres with Sakalakala Vallavan in 1982. It became the first Tamil to do a business of `1 crore. So, he redefined commercial cinema and showed you can get maximum turnover with these films. In a way, you can blame him for making hardcore commercial cinema the centre of Tamil cinema, which would have otherwise taken the realistic films route. But those films would not have helped our films penetrate into the interior areas. At the same time, he did not forget good cinema and wrote films like Aarilirunthu Arubathu Varai and Engeyo Ketta Kural.

Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan have acted in many films written by Panchu Arunachalam. What role did he play in their careers?
He did 23 films with Rajinikanth and 13 with Kamal Haasan. He wrote commercial films for Rajini (Kazhugu, Pokkiri Raja, Paayum Puli) and Kamal (Thoongadhey Thambi Thoongadhey, Uyarndha Ullam) one after another. However, despite managing the careers of two superstars, he never played games. That is why both these actors trusted him. If you take Rajinikanth, with Bhuvana Oru Kelvikuri, he turned Rajinikanth, who was until then acting as a villain into a hero, then made him a superhero with Murattu Kaalai, and then brought him back to family audiences with Engaeyo Kaetta Kural. In his career, there are five films that the Superstar himself speaks of as close to his heart — Bhuvana Oru Kelvikuri, Mullum Malarum, Aarilirunthu Arubathu Varai, Engeyo Ketta Kural and Sri Raghavendra. Out of these five, three were written by Panchu Arunachalam. So, in that sense, he is the man who invented Rajinikanth as an actor and showed the world that he can act. Even Rajini sir acknowledges this in the documentary, and says, "Even though Balachander sir is the one who introduced me, Panchu Arunachalam is the person who made me a big artist."



http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/e...w/48215004.cms

[balaajee]

நேரம் படஇயக்குநருக்கு ரஜினியிடமிருந்து அழைப்பு?

மலையாளத்தில் வெளியாகி பெரிய வெற்றியைப் பெற்றப் படம் பிரேமம். தமிழில் நேரம் படத்தை இயக்கிய அல்போன்ஸ்புத்திரன் தான் அந்தப்படத்தையும் இயக்கியிருந்தார். முதல்படமான நேரமும் வெற்றி, அடுத்த படமான பிரேமமும் வெற்றி என்பதால் அவரிடன் பணியாற்றிய பல நடிகர்கள் ஆர்வமாக இருப்பதாகச் சொல்லப்படுகிறது.
எல்லாவற்றிற்கும் மேலாக, அண்மையில் அல்போன்ஸ்புத்திரனைத் தொடர்பு கொண்ட ரஜினி மகள் சௌந்தர்யா, அப்பாவுக்கு ஏற்ப ஒரு கதை தயார் செய்யுங்கள் அவரை வைத்து நீங்கள் இயக்க நான் ஏற்பாடு செய்கிறேன் என்று சொன்னதாகத் தெரிகிறது. சூப்பர்ஸ்டாரிடம் இருந்து அழைப்பு என்றால் எல்லோரும் மகிழ்ச்சியடைவார்கள். ஆனால் இவரோ அதிர்ச்சியடைந்துவிட்டாராம்.

அவரை வைத்துப் படம் இயக்கும் அளவுக்கு நான் இன்னும் தயாராகவில்லை, அவரை மட்டுமல்ல வேறு யாரை வைத்தும் பெரியபட்ஜெட்டில் படம் எடுக்க நான் தயாராகவே இல்லை. சின்னயூனிட்டை வைத்துக்கொண்டு அமைதியாகப் படம் எடுக்கவே நான் விரும்புகிறேன் என்று சொன்னதாகத் தெரிகிறது.

அட்டகத்தி, மெட்ராஸ் ஆகிய படங்களைத் தொடர்ந்து ரஞ்சித் இயக்கும் மூன்றாவது படத்தில் ரஜினி நடிக்கிறார், அல்போன்ஸ்புத்திரன் தயாராக இருந்தால் அவருடைய மூன்றாவதுபடத்திலும் ரஜினி இருந்திருப்பார் என்று திரையுலகில் பேச்சு இருக்கிறது.

[PARAMASHIVAN]

look at the success of bhabulai, had "kochdaiyan" been made as a real movie, it would have been better than babhubali, the only thing I am not sure about is .how a frail RK would have handled the stunts ? Other wise it wold have been awesome !

[Girish11]

look at the success of bhabulai, had "kochdaiyan" been made as a real movie, it would have been better than babhubali, the only thing I am not sure about is .how a frail RK would have handled the stunts ? Other wise it wold have been awesome !

Just because a historical/period movie which has been well made because huge hit does not mean all movies in that genre will do well no matter
who the star is, ithellam romba over, comparing apples & oranges, its like comparing Amaran and Nayagan

[Mr.GreyShirt]

Just because a historical/period movie which has been well made because huge hit does not mean all movies in that genre will do well no matter
who the star is, ithellam romba over, comparing apples & oranges, its like comparing Amaran and Nayagan

In my opinion Kochadaiyan had more substance then Bahubali. I agree with Param.

[vithagan]

Rajinikanth's blockbuster Enthiran gets a sequel

July 27, 2015 17:37 IST

A lowdown on what's going on in the Tamil film industry.


The sequel to Shankar's Rajinikanth starrer mega blockbuster Enthiran may soon become a reality.
According to latest reports, Enthiran 2 will be made at a whooping budget of Rs 300 crore with 27 assistant directors and 10 executive producers.
Sources say that the pre-production work is already underway.
It was earlier reported that actor Vikram was offered the role of the antagonist in the film, but there has been no confirmation from the actor as yet.
Enthiran was made at a budget of Rs 130 crore and collected Rs 290 crore at the box office worldwide.

It was the highest grossing Tamil film of all time until Baahubali, which released recently, surpassed it.
Shooting for the film will commence as soon as Rajinikanth wraps up his next film with director Pa Ranjith of Attakathi and Madras fame, which is scheduled to begin this August.

[Adox]

What I read is that it'll take about 3 years for Shankar to complete E-2 ... if true, thats way too long. Also a villain to satisfy NI audience so it may not be Vikram ..

[PARAMASHIVAN]

villain to satisfy NI audience so it may not be Vikram ..

Naseeruddin Shah ??

[PARAMASHIVAN]

Kochdaiyan had a better story than bahubali, plus name "RAJIKANTH" would have made it a "Huge success" @ BO had it been made as a real movie ...