Chennai: It’s one of the most anticipated films in the history of Indian cinema and the costliest ever made at a budget of Rs. 180 crores: Tamil director Shankar Shanmugam’s magnum opus romantic action thriller film titled ‘I’.
Set to release in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam and in all major Indian languages, ‘I’, produced and distributed by V. Ravichandran under Aascar Films, will be the first Indian film to be dubbed into Chinese. It stars Vikram and Amy Jackson in lead roles.
The ensemble cast also includes the Malayalam superstar Suresh Gopi, the Indian American actor Upen Patel, who is at present a survivor in the reality show Bigg Boss 8, Santhanam and Ramkumar Ganesan portraying pivotal roles. The soundtrack album and background score was composed by A. R. Rahman. Martial arts choreographer Yuen Woo-ping, renowned for his work in The Matrix trilogy, has sculpted the stunt sequences.
The film, which has been shot extensively in China, along with locales in Chennai, Bangkok, Jodhpur, Kodaikanal, Pollachi, Bangalore and Mysore, revolves around the character of ‘Lingesan’, played by Vikram, who considers Arnold Schwarzenegger as a role model and his only aim in life is to win the Mr. Tamil Nadu title.
The official trailer released today by Shankar who also wrote the film, with the announcement that the film will hit screens all over the world on Pongal – which falls on Wednesday, January 14, makes one thing clear: the film is a visual treat for the senses, with mind boggling special effects and a riot of color at locales that defy imagination.
There have been reports of the painstaking work done by Shankar, including spending 9 days for the filming of a 5 minute song. But the labor of love that a film like this is is also characterized by what top technical wizards bring to the table to make it a wholesome experience for the audience. And it seems the audiences are not going to be disappointed.
The 2 minute long trailer gives a glimpse of some terrific action and stunt sequences, with special effects from the makers of the film ‘Robot’ that will be worth watching again and again. The romantic music by Rahman has already proved to be chart busters, and the locales in which they have been shot will make this film one for the ages. Amy Jackson looks beautiful in the scenes, and makes one want to see more of her, and not eait till Pongal.
The trailer, which is dominated by a scary looking fiendish hunchback, which Shankar has admitted was the hardest to sketch for Vikram, gives tag lines: “I is Love” “I is Pain’, “I is Devil’, and “I is Revenge.’ It adds at the end: ‘I will see you on Pongal.’
