It’s been two decades since Kajol’s debut Tamil film, Minsara Kanavu.
Directed by Rajeev Menon and featuring the Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge actress along with Prabhu Deva and Arvind Swami, this romantic drama won four national awards, three Tamil Nadu state awards and a Filmfare award for A.R. Rahman’s music.
Can anyone forget the song sequence of Ooh Lala La? Even today, the vivacious Kajol and actor Nasser dancing to this peppy number is easy to recall. The actress now returns to Tamil cinema with VIP 2, releasing this month.
VIP 2 (Vellai Illai Pattathari), directed by Soundarya Rajnikanth, is based on a story written by lead star Dhanush.
The actor plays Raghuvaran, the character he played in VIP. Kajol is playing Vasundhara, a business tycoon in VIP 2, and the trailers reveal a clash of ideals between Raghuvaran and Vasundhara.
At the trailer launch of VIP 2 held in Chennai, Dhanush remembered watching Minsara Kanavu when he was in class 10.
“Working with Kajol was a fascinating experience,” he said. “Having a co-actor like her enhanced my performance.”
Kajol admitted that acting in a language that you don’t understand is not easy. “Dhanush and Soundarya were a great help,” she added.
Director Rajinikanth said that they could not imagine anyone else other than Kajol in the role of Vasundhara. “She was amazing and fit well into her role,” she said.
Calling Dhanush her mentor and good friend, Rajinikanth said: “I learnt so much from him. Creative differences were inevitable, but eventually it was the final product that took the call.”
Dhanush took three years to script part two and intends writing part three and part four of VIP.
Will Vasundhara continue to be a part of the story?
Kajol who was present on the occasion said, “I will keep coming back.”
Sean Rolden has composed music for VIP 2. There are four songs in the album. Dhanush has sung three songs and written the lyrics for three numbers.
VIP 2 is jointly produced by S. Thanu and Dhanush and made in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu. The supporting cast includes Amala Paul, Vivek and Samudrakani.
VIP 2 releases in India around Dhanush’s birthday on July 28 and the actor says he couldn’t have asked for a bigger birthday gift.
