Dhanush. YouTube
Filmmaker Karthik Subbaraj, who remained tight-lipped about his long-awaited film with Dhanush, has finally spilled the beans about the project.
Earlier, the film was supposed to be bankrolled by Mersal producer Thenandal Studios Limited. Now, due to some issues best known to the team, Thenandal has opted out of the film and Sashikanth of YNOT Studios, known for bankrolling 2017's blockbuster gangster thriller Vikram Vedha, is producing this yet-untitled film.
Dhanush. YouTube
In his latest conversation with YouTube channel Film Companion, Karthik has finally opened up about the project which was supposed to go on floors last year. "Since Thenandal had committed to work on Mersal, there was a slight delay. Now, they're not in a position to produce the film and YNOT Studios has come on board. Since I have received the offer to direct Superstar Rajinikanth now, we all mutually agreed that I'll finish Thalaivar's project first and commence this one next. Actually, we were planning to start rolling from May before I received a call from Superstar."
Talking about the genre of his yet-to-be-titled film with Dhanush, Karthik said, "It's an action thriller with gangster elements. The story takes place in New York and we wanted a proper actor from Hollywood for an important role. I wanted someone from The Godfather cast to play the role. That's the reason we tried to approach Robert De Niro and Al Pacino but in vain. It was a tedious process to reach out to them. First, you should approach the casting agent of the respective actor and they should like the script. And you have to wait for a particular period of time until they get back. We can't narrate the same story to some other actor for the same character. Here, I can narrate a role to multiple actors and keep my options open. It's not possible there. This process took me nearly six months. We still haven't finalised anyone for the role."
Subbaraj said he would start shooting the movie after he completes his upcoming magnum opus with Rajinikanth, which will be bankrolled by Sun Television network's film production wing Sun Pictures. Earlier, in a media interaction, Karthik had confirmed that he would complete the shooting of Rajinikanth project before the end of 2018.
Speculations are rife that Vijay Sethupathi, who made lead role appearances in Karthik's breakout hit Pizza and critically acclaimed drama Iraivi, will play a key role in the film and lock horns with Rajinikanth. Anirudh Ravichander has been roped to compose music for the project which marks his first association with a film starring Rajinikanth.
After the ongoing strike draws to a close, Subbaraj will begin the test shoot for Rajinikanth's makeover in the film and will kick-start the principal shooting schedule immediately thereafter.
Karthik is currently awaiting the release of his silent thriller Mercury which stars Prabhu Deva in the lead role. The film, which is based on the real life incident of Kodaikanal Mercury poisoning case, is slated to hit screens everywhere on 13 April except Tamil Nadu because of the present stalemate situation in Kollywood.
Published Date: Apr 07, 2018 10:40 AM | Updated Date: Apr 07, 2018 11:22 AM