‘My dream has come true’

Hyderabad: Superstar Rajinikanth’s daughter and director of the path-breaking film Kochadaiiyaan, Soundarya, speaks to DC about the film, her father and technology that made the film possible

“Today is a very important day for me,” says Soundarya, explaining, “I am in the same room with appa and Amitabh uncle, presenting my dream project Kochadaiiyaan.” She is proud of the fact that no Indian film has used the technology of photo-realistic performance capture before this. For the Indian audience, the superhit science fiction film Avatar would be an ideal example of this technology’s usage. “Kochadaiiyaan is an animated film, but you can’t call it a cartoon. The actors’ facial expressions were captured and assimilated in a visual form,” says Soundarya.

“Kochadaiiyaan is dear to my heart. He is a dancer and a warrior and to see my father do the Rudra Tandav felt as though God had come down from heaven. I could not see anybody else as Lord Shiva performing the Tandav other than Rajinikanth.”
“I too am his diehard fan. Rajini stands for doing everything impossible… No one else could be my Kochadaiiyaan,” she says, adding, “Yes, it was emotional directing dad. As a director I would make him do what I wanted. But when his scenes would get over the daughter in me would surface. I would see to it that he was comfortable on the sets and also that he reached home safely as soon as he was through with his day’s schedule. Thanks to his support I have been able to make my dream come true. I’ve treasured this dream for almost six years.”

The technology
“A lot of things can be added through this technology,” says Soundarya, explaining, “Sets can be created and action sequences can be choreographed with impressive effects. For example, all the super heroes can be brought alive with this on to the big screen. Deepika, Jackie and Rahman Sir have contributed a lot to this film. My dad has added the charisma of his voice in one song. Rahman and I had discussed it much ahead and Rahman simply asked him to lend his voice. He instantly agreed.”
“There is a situation where ‘K’ wins a fight and says, “Dushmano ko harane ke sirf do hi tarike hein, pehla tarika hai mafi.” This line symbolises the character of ‘K’.

Childhood dream
“I always read Amar Chitra Katha as a child and those pictorial characters played in my mind for years. Thanks to mum and dad, that these long-cherished stories have come alive through this technology for the first time in India. Yes, I am proud to be the first Indian woman who will be remembered in history for this adventure.”

Delay in release?
“According to me, there is no delay in the release of the film. The process of the film took a long time. We are finishing the film and it has cleared the censor formalities... Due to the elections, we are in two minds and are yet to finalise the date. The film will not be releasing on April 11. We have to finalise a few more things.” she says.

Unique marketing
“I think marketing of this film, being a first of its kind, is very essential. Being a photo-realistic film, the audiences need to be made aware about this kind of film,” Soundarya explains, adding, “The rushes from the shoot motion captured from the expressions of the artistes’ comprise the scenes and lead to the intriguing tale. People have acted in the film and it is thus not a ‘cartoon flick’.”

Images in her head
Soundarya says that to her, it has always been about images. “Dad has seen me growing up with this dream. I would never read novels. I was always inclined to read stories with images. So before going to the floors I was ready with an image screenplay. My mind needs images to highlight my thought process more clearly. I have been passionate about storytelling in a creative manner. I hope the audiences understand — this film is not an alternate film, it is an action captured technology. We also have the commercial angle to it with Rajini, Deepika and the choreographers Saroj Khan and Chinni Prakash.”