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| Rajini
at Imsai Arasan: Pawn your towel, not
dhothi |
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Imsai
Arasan’s 100th day was celebrated
magnificently in the Kalaivanar Arangam
on Saturday, October 14, 2006. Shankar
arranged for the function to be celebrated
during the shoot breaks of Shivaji
so that Rajini could head the celebrations.
The gathering was attended by the
big wigs of the industry including
Sathyaraj, Prabhu, Vijay, Nazar, and
Vivek.
The function was officially inaugurated
with Pulamaipithan’s welcome
speech, which was followed by a skit
with comedian Santhanam & co in
the costume of a fortune teller. He
introduced all the guests and the
cast and crew of the blockbuster.
The other attendees included Manorama,
M.N. Rajam, Ilavarasu, Rajesh, Thottadarani,
Manobala, and Thyagu. |
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Rajini spells out wisdom
The highlight of the function
was the stimulating speech made
by the superstar over the financial
difficulties a producer undergoes
while making a movie. Rajini
said, ‘Shankar knows that
nobody would be ready to buy
a movie with a 6 crore budget.
He took a chance and mortgaged
his house to get the movie to
the screen.’
It is impossible to define the
success of Imsai Arasan as a
single-handed effort. The credit
is attributed to everybody associated
with this movie, and particularly
to Shankar, who took the bold
initiative to make this venture
happen, Rajini quoted. His passion
in producing extraordinary movies
is something which can be never
seen in anyone else, Rajini
opined. |
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Everyone
thinks of Shankar as an astonishingly
talented director. But he is a simple
person who has a teen fan of 16 sitting
inside his head. Shankar’s job
is to feed the crazy fan inside him
all the time, Rajini remarked. No
other directors apart from Sridhar
and Balachandar were recognized outside
Tamilnadu until recently. But Shankar
has rewritten the myth and is known
all over India. Wait till you see
Shivaji, you can relate to what I
say, Rajini reassured further. |
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Vadivelu – a threat
to Vijay, Ajith
Rajini congratulated Vadivelu
and the director Simbudevan
on their effort to manage a
block buster. It is the good
fortune of other lead heroes
in Tamil that Vadivelu is dark
and not so handsome. He would
otherwise have been a threat
to Vijay, Ajith, Rajini, Kamal
or Rajini. I have been noticing
him ever since I signed him
up for Valli. He has improved
his skills tremendously. He
should not stop with Imsai Arasan.
He should act in the sequel
to Imsai Arasan as well, the
superstar stated. |
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I
have seen people mortgaging their
property and other lifetime savings
to finish a movie and bring it to
the theatres. Although I understand
their passion towards their work,
I would advice them to form strategies
before they release the movies. The
release time of a movie definitely
matters and please work on it, Rajini
advised. Leave something for your
survival before you decide to pawn
your lifetime savings, Rajini added.
The honors were bestowed on the crew
and the cast by Rajini, Vijay, Sathyaraj,
and Prabhu. Kamala theatre proprietor
Chidambaram announced a cash reward
of Rs. 50,000/- to his employees on
the occasion and Rajini distributed
the same. |
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Vadivelu’s
time as a king
Vadivelu, commenting on Imsai,
observed that the majestic appearance
of the king was achieved only
through inexpressible hardships.
Describing the daily rigors,
he noted that make up would
start being applied at 9.00,
and which he had to remain still
and motionless until the shoots
broke for lunch at 1.00. No
bending was permitted, and even
going to the restroom to answer
the call of nature was forbidden.
Despite all the sacrifices,
Vadivelu commented, I had the
time of my life portraying the
king on screen. |
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Vijay,
Sathyaraj, Prabhu, and Vivek delivered
their speeches. Vijay stated that
Vadivelu is one of the very best comedians
the Tamil cinema has ever had. He
recounted his time during the shoots
of Friends and stated that he could
not stop himself from smiling because
of Vadivelu’s antics, and that
would be evident even now on the screen
during one particular scene. |
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Sathyaraj
stated that he was not sure
how Rajini would take his imitation
of the superstar in his Mahanadigan.
But I am now happy to know that
Rajini does not take anything
to his heart and is a pure professional,
he indicated.
Shankar and Rajini had a good
time laughing when Vivek and
Vadivelu made their speeches
on the stage. The entire crowd
seemed to have enjoyed that
too. The arena burst into an
uproar of applause when the
two comedians finished their
speeches. |
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Shankar
thanks
The celebration concluded with Shankar
thanking the gathering for attending
the function. The gala was also attended
by the heroines of Imsai, Monika,
Tejasree and directors, including
Lingusamy and Balaji Sakthivel. |
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