'I' audio launch
Arnold Schwarzenegger,
Rajnikanth, Vikram, Amala Paul, Shankar, A R Rahman, Anirudh Ravichander,
Puneet Rajkumar and A L VIjay among others were present at the audio launch of
Tamil magnum opus 'I'.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was
the chief guest, said he would love to work with its director Shankar someday.
Schwarzenegger even gave the film an imaginary title 'King Conan', inspired
from the film franchise 'Conan the Barbarian' and 'Conan the Destroyer'.
"Shankar is a great
filmmaker. He comes up with superb special effects in his films. I would love
to work with him someday. Let's make 'King Conan', Shankar,"
Schwarzenegger told reporters.
The makers of the film also
organised a special bodybuilding act featuring a dozen local bodybuilders as a
tribute to Arnold, who is a bodybuilding legend.
The 'Terminator' series star, who
watched in awe, congratulated all of them. He was also happy that Shankar had
featured them in the film.
"It's great to see all this
talent. It reminds me of my olden days. It's wonderful that Shankar has given
them a chance to star in the movie," he said.
Another highlight of the evening
was actor Vikram, who stunned hundreds of his fans when he appeared on stage in
his werewolf getup from 'I'. He performed a song with co-star Amy Jackson.
"I was getting ready in this
getup from 4 p.m. in the evening. It takes so much of time to put on the
makeup. The entire process takes about four hours every time," Vikram told
reporters.
Weta, a New Zealand-based visual
effects company was responsible for Vikram's werewolf and one more important
character in the film.
"The team at Weta needs to
be specially thanked. They would treat this as art, and patiently look into the
smallest detail in the makeup process. From my hair to finger nails, they
looked into everything and ensured that it all looked good," he said.
This was Vikram's first public
appearance in two years since he started working on the film.
"I had to completely stay
disconnected from the outside world since my roles demanded it. I'm standing in
front of my fans almost after two years. They've been patiently waiting for
this day," he said.
Vikram underwent a lot of
physical transformation for 'I'.
"I had to gain as well lose
weight for my characters in the film. For one of the roles, I lost over 30 kg.
It was very challenging," he added.
Superstar Rajnikanth, who was
moved by actor Vikram's commitment for 'I', said that no actor could sacrifice
as much as him for a character.
Vikram spent over two years
working for the film and he gained and lost considerable amount of weight to
play his characters in the film.
"Vikram has dedicated his
life for this film. Hats off to his commitment. I don't think you could find an
actor who has sacrificed so much for a character in Indian cinema as well as
Hollywood. I wish the film all success," Rajnikanth told reporters.
Rajnikanth also appreciated
filmmaker Shankar for making 'I', which has been on floors for over two years.
"What do I say about
Shankar? It's been two decades since he entered the Tamil film industry. He's
climbing up with every film. 'I' will take him to the pinnacle. But I know this
won't be the end because he will continue making films that will supersede his
own work," he said.
"He'd always complain that
why can't we make films on par with Hollywood. His aim has always been to take
Tamil cinema to global standards. He does all this not just for money, but for
his passion for cinema. He's the real cinema Indian," he added.
Actor Vikram plays a bodybuilder,
who aspires to win Mr. Tamil Nadu title in 'I', which also features Amy Jackson
and Upen Patel in important roles. The movie is expected to hit the theatres
during the Diwali festive season.
