Can a tiger’s offspring be a cat? With this phrase in Tamil, Soundarya Rajinikanth Ashwin, the youngest daughter of legendary actor Rajinikanth, was introduced at the music launch of Kochadaiiyan in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, on Sunday.
Kochadaiiyan, India’s first performance capture film, is Soundarya’s directorial debut. And with it, she becomes the first woman in India to direct her father in a film.
Holding the stage amid several stars including her father, considered one of the biggest stars in the country and worshiped in south India, and Deepika Padukone, who plays the female lead in the film, Soundarya explained that the film was “an animated story and not a cartoon where images are created on the computer.”
“The actors have performed their roles and that was captured to create a digital film. This is neither a visual effects film nor a computer graphics mix,” she said.
During the making of the film, the actors did not wear any special costumes but wore body suits with a camera fitted to their head to capture their reactions.
“I had to imagine that I was riding a horse for a scene and portray the right emotions as the horse picked up speed and then slowed down. That’s where the challenge lay,” said Sarath Kumar, who plays a significant role in the film.
Another advantage in using this technology was the freedom it gave the creators to make the characters do anything they wanted.
“Like making appa [father] dance a Rudra Thandavam [a dance of Lord Shiva],” said Ashwin.
Attendees were treated to a screening of the scene.
Produced by Eros International and Mediaone Global Entertainment, Kochadaiiyan, is a historical saga of the ruler of an ancient Tamil dynasty whose two sons, Sena and Rana, are at war.
Other members of the cast include Bollywood’s Jackie Shroff, Tamil actor Aadhi, Malayalam actress Shobana and Tamil actress Rukmini.
But the day undoubtedly belonged to Oscar-winner A.R. Rahman, the music composer of the film. The album consists of nine songs including one sung by Latha, Rajinikanth’s wife. Another song Karma Veeran, features Rahman’s sister Raihanah. All songs were written by Vairamuthu except Medhuvaagathaan, which was written by the late lyricist Vaali.
Joining this illustrious crew is another Oscar winner, Resul Pookutty, the sound engineer, and Bollywood’s Neeta Lulla, the costume designer.
The trailer of the film in Tamil was screened in 3D, leaving the audience enchanted.
Kochadaiiyan is being made in six Indian languages; Tamil, Telegu, Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi and Bhojpuri.
“After the Cannes film festival this year, there are plans to dub it into French, German, Spanish and Japanese,” revealed Ashwin.
The chief guest at the music launch was Bollywood’s Shah Rukh Khan, who praised Ashwin saying: “This film will change cinema in the country as it takes the finest steps in the realm of technology.”
The proud father, Rajinikanth added: “I love period films, especially those that begin with ‘Once upon a time’. And that’s what drew me to Kochadaiiyan. I am confident this film will be liked by everyone.”
While films of this magnitude, such as Avatar and Tintin, take up to five years to complete, Kochadaiiyan was completed in two years. The budget for the film was Rs1.25 billion (Dh74.9 million) and way below Avatar’s $300 million and Tintin’s $120 million.
A range of Kochadaiiyan-themed phones by Karbonn Mobiles were also released after the music launch.
Kochadaiiyan is scheduled for released in mid-April.
