Press meet of ‘Thalaivan Thalaivi’ starring ‘Makkal Selvan’ Vijay Sethupathi – Nithya Menon
Presented by T. G. Thiagarajan on behalf of Sathyajothi Films, produced by Senthil Thiagarajan – Arjun Thiagarajan, ‘Thalaivan Thalaivi’ directed by Pandiraj and starring ‘Makkal Selvan’ Vijay Sethupathi – Nithya Menon in the lead roles will be released in theaters worldwide on July 25.
In this situation, 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 participated in this.
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 in his own right. All the films he has directed have been successful films. My father liked it when he narrated the story. We liked it too.
Working with Vijay Sethupathi is a great opportunity for us. His fame has spread to China today. The film ‘Maharaja’ released in his role 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 Tamil cinema’. His fame was very precious to us and it is an honor to work with him.
There is no need to mention Nithya Menon. No matter what role she plays, even if she is paired with a big star actor, she wins a place in the hearts of the fans with her unique talent. We consider it a privilege to work with him.
Music composer Santhosh Narayanan has given 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 great support,” he said.
Hero Vijay Sethupathi spoke, ”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 come together, which we did not expect. That was the period when he was not going to work with him and I was not going 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, similarly the anger between us disappeared and love blossomed. After that, everything happened in a flash.
I have known the director since almost 2009. We met and talked when he 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 Productions. I was surprised 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 work with this company.
I have acted with Nithya Menon in the Malayalam film ’19 (1) (A)’ in 2020. It was a film that gave importance to the heroine of the story. I accepted the request of director Indu and made 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 about ‘if we get a chance, we will work together’. But we didn’t expect that opportunity to come like this in the film ‘Thalaivan Thalaivi’.
I had a desire to work with Nithya. But I didn’t expect to act with her in such a role. You will all understand this after watching the film. It was a happy experience to work with her. I can’t even think of anyone else in that role other than 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 role. She gives such an amazing performance.
We visited the set, 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 also 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 will be traveling. If we travel approximately 500 kilometers.. not every kilometer of it will remain in our minds. Some five or six places will remain green in our memories. We will have rested somewhere, we will have sat somewhere and enjoyed nature, we will have eaten somewhere, we will have stood doing nothing, we will have enjoyed the clouds, we will have taken photographs. Those are the only memories we have from that journey. When we recall those memories again and again, we will feel like traveling again. That is how I worked with him. It is like the memories that one gets on a wonderful journey.
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, we all talked together for more than 45 minutes. At that time, the shooting was over, and I felt that it could have lasted another week. The entire shooting was such a pleasant experience. We worked together as a big family on the shooting set.
A girl named Magizhini plays 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 this role. I think Magizhini is the godchild who came to bless us in this film.
There was an expectation and surprise that the child Magizhini would act in what the director wrote in the screenplay. I asked the director if everything you wrote would come to the screen. He said it would. In one scene in the film ‘Pasanga’ released by him, a child runs everywhere and makes the scene come alive. I enjoyed that scene very much. Similarly, in this film, the two children, Magizhini and Muthumani, have acted well. Whatever the director thought of in this story, the child Magizhini has delivered wonderfully. All the scenes she appears on screen in this film will impress 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 theater and watch the film, enjoy it and support it,” he said.
Actress Nithya Menon said, ”Vijay Sethupathi shared many things about the film. Everyone who worked on the film had almost the same idea.
Working on this film was the happiest experience I got in my life. When acting 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 together on this film gave me a lot of joy personally.
At the same time, I am very confident about this film. I am also confident that everyone will like this film,” he said.
Speaking, 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 Thalaivi’ came about are also wonderful. The incidents that gave rise to the story for this film are also beautiful. I have written this story from a true incident. The two characters that I met when I went to the Kula Deiva temple for my son’s birthday party are Akasha Veeran and Perarasi.
You cannot 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 this. Writing it changed it into something else. It was while writing it that the value of the character Akasha Veeran increased. Because Akasha Veeran will make you laugh.. will make you cry… will torture you… it is impossible to define what kind of character he is.
Generally, if a hero character is.. a
There will be 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 watch it. You will appreciate it. I believed that it would be good if he played this character.
A serious and mass character can be turned into a comedy. When it is being played in 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… loving mother – beautiful daughter-in-law – good wife – but you never know how she will change. It is difficult to handle such a character. But the Empress will love Akash Veeran more. No one else but 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. For the first time, what did I write in the screenplay..! I asked for Nithya Menon. She is the one who acted in this film. I thank the producers at this moment.
The husband-wife fight can be called a Tom and Jerry love story. The 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 is 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, the only objective was to complete the film on the date and within the budget.
In that way, we started working with the plan to complete the shooting of this film in 75 days. We completed it in 72 days. Everyone who worked on the film was sad that the shooting was completed within that time..! Won’t it last a few more days..? 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 find and make different types like chocolate parotta… watermelon parotta.. That too would be delicious.
All the actors, actresses and technicians who acted in the film worked together as a family. This was the first time I had worked with music director 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 written by lyricist Karthik Netha in particular. Just as the song about a father, ‘Theivangal Tullha Porode Pog..’ written by lyricist Na Muthukumar in the film ‘Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga’, became a big hit and is still remembered by everyone today… Similarly, the song about the separation between a husband and wife in this film will also be a hit. I liked it when Santhosh Narayanan composed the lyrics 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? The story of the film is a question. After the release of this film, many people who have sought court for divorce will think about it.
After watching the films ‘Kadaikutty Singam’ and ‘Namma Veettu Pillai’, many brothers and sisters have forgotten their animosity and come together to share with me. Similarly, after the release of this film, if a husband and wife have decided to divorce, should they go for it? They will think about it. I believe this film will provide that idea,” he said.
