Presented by D. G. Thiagarajan under the banner of Sathyajothi Films, produced by Senthil Thiagarajan – Arjun Thiagarajan and directed by Pandiraj, ‘Makal Selvan’ starring Vijay Sethupathi – Nithya Menon in the lead roles, ‘Thalaivan Thalaivi’ is set to release in theatres worldwide on July 25.
In this context, a press meet of the film crew was held in Chennai. The film’s producer D. G. Thiagarajan, producer Senthil Thiagarajan, actor Vijay Sethupathi, actress Nithya Menon, director Pandiraj and actor Rohan were present.
Speaking at the event, producer Senthil Thiagarajan said, “We are the third generation to produce films and work as producers. I would like to thank everyone who has been supporting us continuously.
‘Thalaivan Thalaivi’ is a wonderful family film. Director Pandiraj is a self-made man. He has emerged as a great director through his personal efforts. All the films he directed were successful films. When he told the story, my father liked it. We liked it too.
Working with Vijay Sethupathi was a great opportunity for us. His fame has spread to China today. The film ‘Maharaja’ in which he was seen has collected eighty crore rupees in Indian currency there. In Hong Kong, he is as famous as Hollywood actor Denzel Washington. He has reached such an extent with the fans. People talk about him in Kolkata too. They say ‘Vijay Sethupathi is the epitome of Tamil cinema’. His fame was very precious to us and it was an honor to work with him.
There is no need to mention Nithya Menon. No matter what role she plays, even if it is with a big star actor, she wins a place in the hearts of the fans with her unique talent. We also consider it a privilege to work with her.
Music composer Santhosh Narayanan has rendered all the songs in this film wonderfully. He has also given new sounds. He has taken the music of ancient Tamils to world standards.
‘Thalaivan Thalaivi’ will be a huge entertainment film. I request the fans and the media to give this film a lot of support,” he said.
Hero Vijay Sethupathi said, ”I don’t know where to start. There were a lot of fights and disputes when the work on this film began. It was in the midst of that that the work on the film began. There is a moment when the director and the hero of the film came together, which we did not expect. That was the period when he was not willing to work with him and I was not willing to work under his direction. There was no personal anger between the two of us. So just as a small flower naturally blooms in a beautiful moment, the anger between us disappeared and love blossomed. After that, everything happened in a flash.
I have known the director almost since 2009. We met and talked when we won the National Award for the film ‘Thenmerku Paruvakatru’. How does it feel to be together now? It was like a big circle had come full circle.
Starting the work on this film was an amazing experience.
I know about Sathya Jyothi Company. I was surprised when I came to know that they started their production with the film ‘Moonram Pirai’. I am very happy to have acted and worked with their production company. I consider it my first time to have worked with this company.
I have acted with Nithya Menon in the Malayalam film ’19 (1) (A)’ in 2020. It is a film that gives importance to the heroine of the story. I accepted the request of director Indu and acted in a special appearance in that film because I liked the story he told. At that time, I did not know that Nithya Menon was the heroine. When we worked together on the set, we talked, ‘If we get an opportunity, we will work together’. But I did not expect that opportunity to come like this in the film ‘Thalaivan Thalaivi’.
I had a desire to work with Nithya. But I did not expect that I would act with her in such a role. You will all understand this after watching the film. It was a joyous experience working with her. I can’t even think of anyone else in that role except Nithya. I think almost all the roles she has played are like that. If Nithya plays a character in a film, I can’t even think of anyone else in that character. She gives such a wonderful performance.
When we arrived at the shooting site, she wouldn’t naturally go by saying, “This is the scene, this is the dialogue, this is the acting, this is the dance.” Nithya is a wonderful actress who understands it completely and thinks about what to do for that character or how to show it on screen or what the director expects and delivers it properly. I would also like to thank her at this moment for working with her.
I mentioned Pandiraj. I have worked with many directors.
I compare this to a journey. We are travelling. If we are travelling for approximately 500 kilometers.. every kilometer of it doesn’t stay in our minds. Some five or six places will remain green in our memory. We would have rested somewhere, sat somewhere and enjoyed nature, eaten somewhere, stood there doing nothing, admired the clouds, and taken photographs. Those are the only memories we would have had on that trip. When we reminisce about those memories again and again, we would feel like traveling again. That is how I worked with him. It is like the memories you get on a very wonderful trip.
To be honest, although it was a bit difficult, working with him was an unforgettable experience.
On the last day of the shooting, after completing the shooting work, we all talked together for more than 45 minutes. At that time, the shooting was over, and I thought that it could have lasted another week. To that extent, the entire shooting was a pleasant experience. We worked together as a big family on the set.
A girl named Magizhini is playing the role in this film. In the screenplay, there was only a boy. But as soon as the director saw Magizhini, he chose her as the right person for the role. I think Magizhini is the godchild who came to bless us in this film.
There was both anticipation and surprise that the child Magizhini would act in what the director had written in the screenplay. I asked the director if everything you had written would come to fruition. He said it would. In his film ‘Pasanga’, a child ran everywhere in one scene and brought the scene to life. I enjoyed that scene a lot. Similarly, in this film too, both children, Magizhini and Muthumani, have acted well. Whatever the director had in mind in this story, the child Magizhini delivered it wonderfully. All the scenes she appears on screen in this film will captivate the audience. I hope all those scenes will be lively.
All the actors who have acted in this film have given their contribution well. This film is releasing on July 25th. It is a full package family entertainer. Everyone will enjoy watching the film. I request everyone to visit the cinema hall, watch the film, enjoy it and support it,” he said.
Actress Nithya Menon said, “Vijay Sethupathi shared a lot of things about the film. Everyone who worked on the film had almost the same idea.
Working on this film was the happiest experience of my life. When you act in a film, there are many people. Especially in this film, there were many actors and actresses. There were also technicians. In this film, everyone worked enthusiastically together without any ego. Everyone was simple.
Even if someone had raised a small problem somewhere.. it would not have been appropriate. That is, the experience would not have been elegant. In that way, the experience of working on this film gave me a lot of personal happiness.
At the same time, I am very confident about this film. I am also confident that everyone will like this film,” she said.
Director Pandiraj said, “I am happy to meet you journalists after almost three and a half years.
The moments when the title of this film ‘Thalaivan Thalaavi’ came about are also wonderful. The events when the story for this film came about are also beautiful. I have written this story from a true incident. The two characters I met when I went to the Kula Deiva temple for my son’s birthday party are Akasha Veeran and Perarasi.
You can’t film what you see firsthand. But if it were like this. What would it be like? This character is a question. After that, I started writing it. It changed into something else as I wrote it. It was while writing that the value of the character Akasha Veeran increased. Because Akasha Veeran makes you laugh.. makes you cry… tortures you… you can’t define what kind of character he is.
Generally, if there is a hero character.. there is a definition for it. Akasha Veeran is a character without any definition. This character cannot be played by all heroes. This character can only be played by Vijay Sethupathi. I am not mentioning this to make him happy. You will feel this when you see it. You will appreciate it. I believed that it would be good if he played this character.
It can be serious and mass, but it can also be a comedy. When it is a comedy, it becomes emotional. They drive a car without knowing how to drive..! This character is like that. But it will be a character that can be enjoyed. It will also be a character that can be loved. You will not hate that character. That is why Vijay Sethupathi has enjoyed and enjoyed this character. We all enjoyed everything he did on the set.
The character of the Empress is also like Akasha Veeran. There will be no definition for the character of the Empress. That character is also beautiful.. loving… A loving mother – a beautiful daughter-in-law – a good wife – but you never know when and how she will change. It is difficult to handle such a character. But the Empress will love Akasha Veeran more. No one else except Nithya Menon could have played such a character.
I have directed 11 films so far. I have not got the heroine I wanted for ten films. What did I write in the script for the first time..! I asked for Nithya Menon. She acted in this film. I would like to thank the producers for this.
Husband-wife fight can be called a Tom and Jerry love story. Husband-wife fight..Vijay Sethupathi and Nithya Menon have acted wonderfully in a way that makes it easy to connect with the fans watching the film. I tortured them on the set. It’s true.
We were running like this for the entire 70 days of shooting. At that moment, if anyone caused a small disturbance, I would get angry. I apologize for that at this moment. As far as I am concerned, there was only one objective to complete the film on the given date.. on the given budget..
In that way, we started working with a plan to complete the shooting of this film in 75 days. We completed it in 72 days. Everyone who worked on the film had completed the shooting by that time..! Won’t it last a few more days..? They were upset. I had a similar experience when the shooting of ‘Kadaikutty Singam’ was completed. When the shooting of this film was completed, I had a similar experience more than that film.
During the shooting, Vijay Sethupathi would make parotta. He would invent and make different types of parotta like chocolate parotta… watermelon parotta.. That too would be delicious.
The actors, actresses and technicians who acted in the film worked together as a family. This is the first time I have worked with music composer Santhosh Narayanan. I had a desire to work with him. There were talks to work together in the film ‘Pasanga 2’. But it was not possible at that time. He has given five songs in this film. The songs of this film will be a great album. I hope everyone will like the song especially written by lyricist Karthik Netha. Just as the song about a father, ‘Theivangal Tullha Porade Pog..’ written by lyricist Na Muthukumar in the film ‘Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga’, became a huge hit and is still remembered by everyone today… Similarly, the song about the separation between a husband and wife in this film is also a hit. I liked it when Santhosh Narayanan composed the score for this song. I liked it when Karthik Netha wrote it as a song. When I heard that song, tears came to my eyes. I sent this song to the editor to edit. He also cried listening to this song. When you see this song as a visual language.. you will really feel the separation.
We have talked about divorce in this film. Divorces are increasing in these days. Why? is a question that is the story of the film. Many people who have approached the court for divorce after the release of this film will think about it.
“After watching the films ‘Kadaikutty Singam’ and ‘Namma Veetu Pillai’, many brothers and sisters have forgotten their animosity and come together to share with me. Similarly, if a husband and wife have decided to divorce after the release of this film, they will think, ‘Should they go for it?’ I believe this film will provide that idea,” he said.
