Title Look Release Ceremony of the film ’29’, produced by Stone Bench Films & Zee Squad
The title look and promo video release ceremony for the new film starring actor Vidhu as the protagonist, titled ’29’, was held successfully in Chennai.
The film ’29’, directed by Rathna Kumar, features Vidhu, Preethi Asrani, Anu Sree Vegan, Shreyas Fatima, and others in the cast. Madhesh Manickam has handled the cinematography, and Sean Roldan has composed the music. Satish Kumar is the editor, and Praveen Raja has handled the costume design.
This romantic film is jointly produced by producers Karthikeyan S and director Lokesh Kanagaraj under the banners of Stone Bench Films and Zee Squad.
With the film’s shooting nearing completion, the title look and promo video release ceremony was held in Chennai. Director Karthik Subbaraj, producer Karthikeyan S, director Rathna Kumar, cinematographer Madhesh Manickam, music director Sean Roldan, editor Satish Kumar, costume designer Praveen Raja, choreographer Master Sheriff, co-producer Pradeep Kumar Bhoopathy, actor Vidhu, actresses Preethi Asrani, Anu Sree Vegan, Shreyas Fatima, and RJ Amuthan attended the event.
Actress Preethi Asrani said, “Every film I act in is special to me. And ’29’ is a film very close to my heart. It’s also a moment where my dream has come true.” “I had heard about Stone Bench Films even when I was acting in my first Tamil film. They say that working with their company feels like being part of a family. So, I had a desire to act in a film produced by them. That wish has been fulfilled today. I have now joined their family as one of its members. The faith that Karthik Subbaraj and Karthikeyan sir placed in this story is what created the opportunity for all of us to work on this film.
As soon as the director met me and narrated the story, I happily agreed to act in it. I express my gratitude for the trust they placed in me and for giving me this opportunity.
We believe that the way we felt and performed the scenes on the set will be felt by you, the audience, as well.
The promo video for this film makes you deeply question yourself, ‘Who are you?’ We hope this resonates with the fans too. I will share more about the film at the upcoming event. Thank you,” she said.
Actor Vidhu said, “This film was an inspiration for me to discover who I am. I thank director Rathna Kumar for seeing me as the character Sathya, selecting me, and giving me the opportunity to act in this film. Thanks to the producers as well. Director Karthik Subbaraj is the one who guided me into the film industry. He is the reason I am standing on this stage today. So, I thank him too.
I have listened to the two songs created for this film. Both are wonderful. Thanks to music director Sean Roldan for this. Whenever I hear his voice, it feels like listening to Ilaiyaraaja’s voice. I have told him this myself. I really like the emotion in his voice.
I learned a lot about cinematography through this film.
When you think of the age 29, everyone has different kinds of thoughts. All of them will be reflected in this film.” “Therefore, I believe this film will be liked by everyone,” he said.
Music composer Sean Roldan, speaking at the event, said, “I met producer Karthikeyan during the success celebration of the ‘Tourist Family’ film. He contacted me and said that the story of this film was good and asked me to work on it. I invited director Rathna Kumar to watch the preview of the ‘Lover’ film. I also asked him to come and congratulate Manikandan. Because I like Rathna Kumar. His personality and courage to face anything were evident in his social media posts. I liked that too.
Courage is very important for artists. Even though there are different opinions about artists, one needs courage to face them.
The story he narrated for this film has been transformed into a musical form.
We have already created two songs for this film. The other songs are also being created. The songs of this film will be excellent as an album,” he said.
Producer Karthikeyan S. said, “This is a very emotional moment for me. I have known Vidhu, who plays the lead role in this film, since he was three years old. He is my only brother. I am happy to see him sitting on this stage as the hero.
Stone Bench Films…”
We are confident that Vidhu, who is making his debut through this film produced jointly by our company and Zee Squad, will rise to become a great actor.
When our production company, Stone Bench Creations, started in 2017, our first film was ‘Meyaadha Maan’. It was directed by Rathna Kumar. To this day, ‘Meyaadha Maan’ remains one of the films we proudly talk about.
After that, we have produced 17 films. But we couldn’t work with him again. After directing films, he has now become a screenwriter.
I heard him narrate the story of this film a few years ago. Even then, it felt very close to my heart. Three years ago, I made only one request to him: that our company should produce this story.
85 percent of the film’s shooting has been completed. Only four days of shooting remain. We will complete that soon.
I got acquainted with music composer Sean Roldan. I became even closer to him when I learned that he comes from a traditional musical family. More than a musician, he is a good human being.
We are producing this film in collaboration with Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Zee Squad company. Since Lokesh Kanagaraj is busy with shooting, his college friend and co-producer of the company, Pradeep, has come here on his behalf. I express my gratitude to him as well.
When we first attempted to release an anthology film in theaters, it included the short film ‘Kalam’ directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj and the short film ‘Madhu’ directed by Rathna Kumar. During that period, Karthik Subbaraj, Lokesh Kanagaraj, Nalan Kumarasamy, Alphonse Puthren, Vijay Sethupathi, Bobby Simha, and Santhosh Narayanan were all part of a group and close friends. To this day, they continue to help and support each other.
If Stone Bench Films produces a film, it has already garnered a dedicated fan base. To maintain this, we are consistently delivering quality productions. For this, I would like to express my gratitude to directors Karthik Subbaraj and Lokesh Kanagaraj at this moment,” he said.
Director Rathna Kumar, speaking at the event, said, “If you reach the age of 29 or 30, your horoscope gets rejected, your application gets rejected. Nowadays, scripts get rejected with the excuse that young people have started making films.
I directed a short film titled ‘Madhu’. That story was later produced as the film ‘Meyaadha Maan’ by Stone Bench Creations. They also introduced me as a director.
When I posted my picture on social media, some people mistook me for Madan Gowri.
When I worked as a writer and screenwriter in the film industry, the people I met would only ask me about Vijay Sethupathi, Karthik Subbaraj, and Lokesh Kanagaraj. That’s when the question ‘Who am I?’ arose within me.
At the age of 29, I found a friend named Lokesh.” The reason I named this film ’29’ is because that age is significant. It was at that age in my life that I experienced negative thoughts that I couldn’t share with anyone. At that moment, editor Satish Kumar advised me to “look for yourself, either within or without,” and suggested that I wear the mala and go on a pilgrimage to Sabarimala.
For me, the body is God, and the mind is the divine; that’s my philosophy. During the Sabarimala pilgrimage, I experienced firsthand that life is full of ups and downs.
I have reunited with the team who worked on the film ‘Meyaadha Maan’ for this project. While ‘Meyaadha Maan’ was a romantic comedy, this film ’29’ is also a romantic film with unique characters.
My friend Lokesh Kanagaraj is currently camped in Courtallam for the shooting of his film where he is acting as the hero. That’s why he couldn’t attend this event. His friend Pradeep has come here.
I narrated the story of this film to actress Preethi Asrani. After listening to it completely, she said that she had some reservations about certain parts and that she wasn’t comfortable acting in it. I met her in person and explained things to convince her, but she remained firm in her decision. That’s when I thought, if a woman can’t relate to this story, why should we insist? Because of her refusal, I made some changes to the screenplay. After that, the entire look of the film changed. I would like to express my gratitude to her for this at this moment.
The film’s protagonist, Vidhu, is a grown-up child. He has acted in ‘Jigarthanda 2’ and also in the film ‘Retro’. In both these films, his face wasn’t clearly visible. In this film, we have showcased his full form in a stylish way.
This is the story of the boy next door, someone we see every day. But from an angle that others cannot see. “I have created this film with the intention of making it similar to Dhanush’s VIP film,” he said.
Director Karthik Subbaraj said, “Mayadha Maan was the first film from Stone Bench company. Following that, we have produced 17 films so far. However, since Mayadha Maan was our first film, the experience we gained while producing it is invaluable. Director Rathnakumar, who directed that film, is always special to our company.
Rathnakumar is an excellent writer, screenwriter, and director. Although I have disagreements with him on many things he says, we share a brotherly bond.
He narrated the story of this film to us after completing Mayadha Maan. We narrated this story to actor Dhanush. He listened to it and said it was excellent, but he couldn’t act in this story. He said he was currently acting in action films and that it would be better if someone younger acted in it.
Since this story was narrated to Dhanush, I said that if we were to make it into a film, it would only be appropriate if we had an actor and actress with strong acting skills. We had to wait for several years because of this.
Recently, Rathnakumar auditioned Vidhu and selected him. Before the Double X film, if Vidhu was the hero, I wouldn’t have agreed. But after acting in ‘Jigarthanda 2’ and ‘Retro’, he worked hard and qualified himself to prove himself as an actor.
Seeing his enthusiasm and dedication, I agreed to let him play the lead role in this film.
He knew that if he got an opportunity to act in a role, he should think about that character and try to express the appropriate body language. I realized this when I saw the change in him while he was acting in the ‘Retro’ film.
Vidhu and Preethi Asrani have acted very well in this film.” I have watched a 20-minute clip related to them. It’s good.
I am proud that this film has been produced by Lokesh Kanagaraj in collaboration with his company, G Squad,” he said.
Meanwhile, it is noteworthy that the title look poster of the film ’29’, which was unveiled at this event, was meticulously created by hand without the use of artificial intelligence technology, and that those who attended the event shared interesting experiences that happened in their 29th year.
