P. Vasu Talks About ‘Sivalinga’ And Goundamani’s Actions In ‘Mannan’ Which Made Rajini Go For 21 Takes

Veteran director P Vasu who has helmed close to 60 movies across different languages in his 35-year long career says that his upcoming film Sivalinga, the Tamil remake of his Kannada blockbuster with the same name, will be liked by the Tamil audience.

“We have incorporated several elements in the Tamil version of Sivalinga so that the audience can relate themselves to the movie. For instance, Vadivelu will portray an interesting character. His pairing with Urvashi has come out brilliantly. Also, his scenes with Raghava Lawrence will be widely spoken about,” says Vasu.

The director who has worked with actors like ‘Superstar’ Rajinikanth, Prabhu and Sathyaraj has directed Ritika Singh, who is only two films old. “She had no clue about the film, when she came on the sets and it was easy to mould her for portraying the character. After the first two days of shoot, we worked out a strategy. One of my female assistants would sit with her after a day’s shoot and explained the next day’s scene. She would sit patiently and understand the context and then deliver. There are quite a few scenes in the movie in which her performance is commendable,” he says.

Vasu’s films like Nadigan, Mannan and Chandramukhi had one thing in common. They all had strong comedy components. When asked if he has used liberal doses of humour in Sivalinga too, he said, “I still remember watching my movie En Thangachi Padichava at a theatre in Coimbatore. The movie had zero comedy in it. The operator asked if the director had no comic sense at all. That is when I realised it is important to have comic relief in a film. Then Goundamani’s pairing with Sathyaraj, Prabhu and Rajinikanth in my movies, clicked with the audience. So Sivalinga too will not fall short of such humour. The theatre operators and staff are the best judge of your movies. They can predict if the movie will become a hit or bomb at the box office.”

Recalling memorable moments from his earlier shooting days, Vasu also shared with us how Rajini kept laughing in a scene in Mannan, where he was supposed to be angry even as the camera was kept rolling. “We had 21 takes for the shot and Rajini still kept laughing at Goundamani’s sense of humour when he says the dialogue, ‘Naan inga vandhu ukaandhadhe thappu ’ (I made a huge mistake by sitting next to him (Rajini)’. After 21 times, we decided to carry on with Rajini still smiling with his mouth covered.”

Coming back to Sivalinga, Vasu’s son Shakthi has played a pivotal role in it. When asked about how was it to work with Shakthi, Vasu said, “When Shakthi was seven years old, I asked him if he is willing to act as the younger version of Prabhu in Chinnathambi. He immediately agreed. That is when I understood, where his passion lies. An actor will be successful only when he gets a good director. I believe Sivalinga will be a huge break for my son.” Vasu added that they plan to release the film on January 26. “We are launching the audio on January 12,” he said.”