'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.