Intro:
Vikrama Simha is a Telugu period film starring superstar Rajnikanth. This period film, directed by Soundarya R. Ashwin, is a 3D animated movie. With A. R. Rahman scoring the music of the film, huge initiatives are being taken for the marketing of the film. Huge expectations are being placed upon the film by fans as well as the makers of the film.
Main lead:
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Tamil superstar, Ranjnikanth is voicing and enacting three lead roles, i.e. Rana, Sena and Kochadaiiyan. Deepika Padukone has been roped in to play the female lead of Princess Vandana, for which Anushka Shetty was first approached. Vidya Balan, Asin Thottumkal and Katrina Kaif were also considered for the role before zeroing in on the leggy beauty. Other well- known actors playing some meaty roles are R. Sarathkumar as Sengodagan, Aadhi as Veera Mahendra, Shobana as Yaahavi, Jackie Shroff as Raja Mahendra, Rukmini Vijayakumar as Yamuna and Nassar as Rishikodagan. The likeness of late actor, Nagesh, was used in the film to create a 3D model of him with the help of high resolution pictures of him to generate computerized character, while actors who bear similarity with his looks were hired to shoot the action scenes. His voice was generated with the help of actors who sound like him.
Other cast and technical details:
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Apart from the lead roles, other well- known actors playing some meaty roles are R. Sarathkumar as Sengodagan, Aadhi as VeeraMahendra, Shobana as Yaahavi, Jackie Shroff as Raja Mahendra, Rukmini Vijayakumar as Yamuna and Nassar as Rishikodagan. The likeness of late actor, Nagesh, was used in the film to create a 3D model of him with the help of high resolution pictures of him to generate computerized character, while actors who bear similarity with his looks were hired to shoot the action scenes. His voice was generated with the help of actors who sound like him.
The film has been co- produced by Sunanda Murali Manohar and Sunil Lulla, under the banner of Eros International and Media One Global Entertainment studios. It is written by K. S. Ravikumar and edited by Anthony. Cinematography of the film has been handled by Rajiv Menon. Award winning fashion designer, Neeta Lulla has designed the costumes for the characters of the film. A. R. Rahman has composed the soundtrack and background music of the film, with ResulPookutty as the sound designer.
In the year, 2007, Soundarya Rajnikanth had begun an animated project named Sultan: The Warrior, and Ravikumar was approached in 2010 to help with the animation. As problems started to occur with its production, a historical background was added to salvage the project. Ravikumar then developed a story which Rajnokanth was impressed with, and it was decided that another film, called Rana would be made. The process was delayed for several reasons. Finally, with Murali Manohar’s suggestion, Kochandaiiyan was started as a prequel to Rana.
The film, originally made in Tamil with the title Kochadaiiyan, has been dubbed in major languages like Hindi, Telugu, Bhojpuri, Marathi, Punjabi, Japanese and English. The Telugu version is known as Vikrama Simha.
The shooting of the film was completed in the year 2013, in the month of February. However, a huge gap has been put before the release date for post- production and promotion works. Post production work was done in the UK, the US, Hong Kong and China.
High end technology has been used in the film. During production, it was the first Indian film to use performance capturing technology that had been used in Hollywood movies like Avatar or The Adventures of Tintin. The film hit the news with the announcement that it would include a fight sequence shot in the middle of the sea, where Rajnikanth’s character will fight dolphins. The dubbing for Vikrama Simha began on the 25th of August in the year 2013.
The track, Choodham Aakasam Antham was released as a single along with the Tamil version, and it immediately received positive response. The album was released by Sony Music Entertainment in Chennai on the 9th of March, 2014. Although Rahman was a little hesitant about taking up the work initially, he gradually got drawn towards the project. His compositions for the film have gained high positions on the charts of iTune all over India. During the music launch, a video with a song in the voice of rajnikanth himself was also shown.
Pookutty was required to put in special effort and attention to the sound designing. It took him two and a half years and a crew of 150 people to do the job. He did not wish to use existing samples, and visited fortresses to collect new sound samples to perfect the sounds of resonance in a durbar, or other ambient sounds. Every action, movement, swords, and even costumes needed foley (ambient sound), which he had to create separately and then put together, layer by layer.
Special attention has been given to the marketing of the film. The film’s first trailer was released on the 9th of March, 2014, after the much criticised Tamil version of the trailer in September, 2013. The film is up for special screenings in India, Los Angeles and London. The producers have struck a unique deal with Karbonn Mobiles for the promotion of the film: for the first time, a mobile company has been roped in by a film for doling out a million handsets with augmented reality apps that will be pre- loaded for the film, complete with signature of Rajnikanth. The producers will set up interactive hoardings in association with the cell phone company. People owning the phones will have to stand in front of one of the 500 hoardings all around India, and send a text message in order to activate the hoarding. Gameshastra and Hungama Digital Media Entertainment also announced two mobile games.
Conclusion:
With such high level pf promotion and marketing, fans are expecting something exceptional and huge. Besides, having spent huge amounts of money for the making and promotion of the film, a lot is riding upon it. The film is set to release on the 9th of May, 2014.