Shooting Spot Stories

Kamal's Hollywood expertise 'Dasavatharam' into mega movie.

Kamal Hasan's Dasavatharam packs tremendous energy into a unique screenplay and visual imagery that has impressed not just the film industry, but Chief Minister M.Karunanidhi as well.

The film's publicists say Dasavatharam is so full of interesting themes that Mr.Karunanidhi apparently called up Vairamuthu who was in Australia and conveyed his enthusiasm.

"The fact that the Chief Minister enjoyed the pictures with youthful enthusiasm and pinched my cheek with affection as if I were a kid is equivalent to celebrating the success of Dasavatharam with a huge function," says Kamal.

Some of the thrills in Dasavatharam include a gripping fight sequence featuring Kamal Hasan in a face-off with himself. Hollywood action director Joop took 20 days to shoot this sequence. The other piece of action is Kamal in a chase sequence in Chidambaram. The adrenaline here flows thanks to Thyagarajan Master, an experienced associate of Kamal.

If Rajnikant's Sivaji created a new standard for the grandeur of sets in the Chennai film industry, Dasavatharam may yet best it with two that are being built, again by Thotta Tharani. Sets are being created with 100 workers in Chennai for two songs, which cost close to Rs.three crores, according to the publicists.

Asin makes Dasavatharam unique not just with colour, but by giving her own voice to her character, which the producers say is her very first such move. She has a 'brahmin' accent to boot. Kamal has dubbed in 10 different voices for 10 characters and the subtleties of each character have been brought out without digital manipulation, according to the audiographer, Sridar.

A sample of the intensity of the project is available from a scene featuring 10,000 people. The audio for such a scene is normally handled with far fewer people lending their voice, but here, it will be 5,000 people. This would make the entire scene rich in detail, including sound.

There is a strong emphasis on action in Dasavatharam, and Kamal says the stunts featuring him and Asin were performed without taking risks, thanks to the "small tricks" that Hollywood has perfected. If India's stuntmen followed those procedures, they would not be risking their life and limb.

The audio for Dasavatharam with Himesh Reshamaiah's music and lyrics by Vaali and Vairamuthu will be released in October. The film, with visual effects by three different software companies and some of the best graphics designers, is a truly international project capable of withstanding scrutiny for its technical perfection and production standards. It will be released simultaneously in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi.