 |
| Rajapattai - Movie Description - Yuvan |
DEVELOPMENT
In late 2010, Vikram was forced to pull out of his film with director Selvaraghavan after the project was shelved and gave dates to a new venture produced by the same studio, for a film to be directed by Suseenthiran. Reports emerged that the film would be titled Vendhan, but this was dismissed by the director. The title of the film, "Raja Pattai" was eventually released in May 2011, with the first schedule planned to begin in early June. A first press meet was held on 6 June 2011 with the entire crew being present. Kanakaratna Ramesh was to produce the film, however his teenage sons Pratish and Santosh were eventually revealed to be producers, launching their own banner named SP Creations. Suseenthiran disclosed that the film would be a "full-fledged commercial" masala film, with action, comedy and romance, further adding that the story was written by Seenu Vasan, while Bhaskar Sakthi would pen the dialogues. By September 2011, reports confirmed that the film had been taken over by Prasad V. Potluri's PVP Cinemas, after Ramesh faced financial restraints.
CASTING
Reports suggested that the film would depict the relationship between a grandfather, played by K. Vishwanath and his grandson played by Vikram. Furthermore, the film was supposed to feature Vikram in dual roles as father and son, however the news was denied by sources, which confirmed that Vikram was to essay dual roles initially, but since the script had been reworked, he would play only one character. Vikram was revealed to play a gym instructor who aspires to become a noted stunt double in the film industry, with the makers adding that his character had negative shades. In March 2011, Deeksha Seth confirmed her presence in the film, citing that she would portray the leading female role of an IT professional. For a parallel lead female role, Amala Paul was signed on, but was forced to pull out due to schedule problems. Mithra Kurian was then signed on for the film for her second big Tamil venture after Kaavalan, after discussions with Abhinaya were unsuccessful. Pradeep Rawat, best known for his performance in Ghajini, was selected to play the main antagonist in the film. Actresses Shriya Saran and Reemma Sen, who had both worked together with Vikram earlier, were roped in to perform an item number together, after attempts to sign Hansika Motwani, who was reportedly offered 1.2 crores for the role, had failed. National Film Award-winner Thambi Ramaiah as well as cinematographer-turned-actor Aruldass, who had also essayed a pivotal role in the director's Naan Mahaan Alla, were roped in for other supporting roles. Suseenthiran also confirmed that he would rejoin with the Naan Mahaan Alla crew, with Yuvan Shankar Raja, R. Madhi and Mu. Kasi Viswanathan taking care of the music, cinematography and editing, respectively.
FILMING
Filming began in June 2011, with the first schedule, during which filming was held in and around Chennai, lasting for 60 days. In August 2011, the first song was shot for five days in Mahabalipuram, with Vikram, Deeksha Seth and fifty back-up dancers participating. The team subsequently shot scenes in a set worth 40 lakhs that was erected at the Island Grounds, Chennai, while the next schedule was to be shot in Thiruvannaamalai and Pondicherry. In October 2011, filming was held near the Ramachandra Medical College in Chennai. Few days later, the crew was shooting a song and several stunt sequences near Karaikudi, and later in Kumbakonam. The climax scene that was canned for eight days at the Binny Mills in Chennai, had reportedly cost approximately 3 crores. During the last week of October and early November, Saloni Aswani, who had previously starred in Madurai Veeran, was shooting for the song "Villadhi Villain" along with Vikram at the AVM Studios, Chennai. The item number, featuring Shriya Saran and Reemma Sen, was initially to be filmed in Japan, however, since Suseenthiran was not satisfied with the locations, he decided to can it in Stucco, Italy.