BEHIND THE SCENES
The saga of struggle that a widowed mother and her three daughters go
through when suddenly dispossessed of their inheritance and the manner in
which they triumph over life's adversities with rare fortitude was an idea
that immensely inspired Rajiv.It is something that is found in the annals
of most family histories and ironically this story has a way of repeating
itself across generations.While chilling out on a family vacation in Ooty,
Rajiv decided that this would be the emotional muscle of his next creation.
After working out the script came the hard decision of casting for the
film. It was important to have sensitive portrayals all around, if the film
were to carry its own strong conviction and credibility. The choice of Tabu
as the eldest of the three daughters in the cast was natural. Rajiv
couldn't think of another actress of the present set of actresses to play
this role. The fine and sensitive portrayal by this talented actress only
shows that she was made to order for the role.
People who have seen the previews of the film can't stop raving about Ash's
stunning portrayal of the younger sister and there have been some who have
called up the director and said that none other than Ash could have suited
the bitter-sweet role of the second daughter more perfectly. Few, however,
know it was an uncanny stroke of chance that brought her into the movie.
When Rajiv, on one of his frequent trips to Mumbai, happened to meet Ash,
who is an old friend, (few, indeed, know that Ash's first television
commercial was for Rajiv...that was a decade ago for Titan watches!!) and
was just casually telling her about his new film, she surprised him
totally when she said she wanted to be in it and play the role of the
spirited younger sibling.
Now came the crucial part of casting the men. It was again absolutely
necessary to find people who could bring depth and character to their
roles. After being most dissatisfied with the auditioning of many top stars
in the south, Rajiv turned once again to Ajith. Earlier, when Rajiv had
talked about the film to him, he had cried out because he was just going in
for a surgery for his chronic back problem. Second time over, Ajith had
just finished with his surgery and was still in hospital when Rajiv met him
again.That Ajith, now recovering from a back surgery in the hospital gladly
agreed to be a part of the multi-starred cast, is a gesture that is still
fresh in the memory of the Director. This spontaneous gesture by this star
was widely appreciated by everybody in the film unit. He became the darling
of the unit. Even now when he lands up in the director's office all the
office boys come running up to greet him!
The powerful role of the heroic war veteran, Major Bala, could have been
portrayed powerfully only by a veteran actor like Mammooty. Rajiv used to
ask his whole unit to just watch Mamooty while at work. He would say, ``He
is the true Indian artiste. Look at his work...it is like a Sadhana..there
is a well of knowledge in him....learn from him..just watch him. That is
enough!"
