“THE STRAIN ON VIJAY WAS TOO MUCH”

In Ilayathalapathy Vijay’s career, director Dharani's Ghilli is an important film and yesterday, the 16th April, was the film’s 13th anniversary. We spoke to Dharani who shares his thoughts.

What are your feelings on the 13th anniversary of this much-loved film?
After having faced a lot of hardships, I feel proud and happy that the film still stays in the memory of the audiences. A lot of efforts has gone into the film.

Vijay
It was Vijay’s dedicated work in the film that helped it big time. It was a big film and had a lot of action sequences. The strain on the hero is too much. There were chases, running, fights, beating, Kabbadi and action sequences. Vijay’s contribution and sincerity were evident right through.

Trisha
Trisha was nearly the hero in Ghilli as she was seen throughout the film. She had to fall in the mud, slush, had to get wet in the rain, jump into the water and all such activities. She cooperated a lot and the result was there for everyone to see.

Team Work
It was a team effort that contributed to the success of Ghilli. Vidya Sagar’s songs, cameraman Gopinath’s visuals, editor Vijayan’s contribution, fight masters Rakki Rajesh, Raju and Kalyan’s work, Bharathan’s dialogues, comedy portions and the lighthouse set in beach mud which was the most difficult thing to handle. The entire team worked together with complete dedication.

Generally, remakes turn out mediocre when compared to the original. But in the case of Ghilli, it is the other way round. How did you manage this?
The main thing in Ghilli was it is the remake and we broke all the roles in the original and adopted the story to a new setting. We changed the song, the climax and a lot of things from the original. It was a real challenge. If it had not done well, we would have immediately been rebuked for spoiling the original. Thankfully, it did not happen. When I think that our changing the original has worked well, I feel good.

Are there any deleted footages of the film?
No. We did not delete any footage. The film was tight indeed. In fact, we added some.

Is there any idea of Ghilli 2?
If done, it would definitely be good. Let’s see.

What is your next project?
I will announce it soon.

Jyothsna Bhavanishankar

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