'Dasavatharam' to have 1000 prints

Oscar Film's magnum opus "Dasavatharam" is expected to be a big draw during Pongal. Nearly 1000 prints of the film will be made to meet the growing demand worldwide, according to industry sources.

This is the most talked about venture today. Two big names, director K.S.Ravikumar the 'king of commercial cinema', and 'acting legend' Kamal Haasan are the main players.

The film has been made at an estimated cost Rs 60 crore and it took exactly 230 days to complete the shooting in several enchanting locations around the world. The shooting concluded at around 9 p.m on Oct. 11 at Uthandi, a Chennai suburb on the East Coast Road. Editing, dubbing, mixing and other post-production works will start now. The mega movie will be presented as a Pongal gift.

Kamal, who dons ten characters, is featured along with Napoleon, Asin, Mallika Sherawat, Jayapradha, K.R. Vijaya, Nagesh, P. Vasu, Ramesh Kanna, R. Sundararajan and M.S. Bhaskar. In Indian cinema, Kamal is credited with many firsts and incredible feats. He played dual roles in several films. In "Apoorva Sahodarargal", one of the three characters he portrayed was a three-foot dwarf who regaled the audience with his performance as a circus joker In "Michael Madana Kamarajan"; he appeared in four get-ups. He played the role of an aging 'Mami" (aunty) in "Avvai Shanmukhi", creating quite a sensation.

Crown them all is the forthcoming "Dasavatharam" in which he displays his acting prowess by portraying ten characters. This is claimed to be unprecedented in Tamil cinema.

The story is being kept under wraps. What is officially made known is that the story is based on an incident which took place in the 12th century (Year 1200). Some of the characters are: US President George W. Bush, a white boss, a black trade union leader, a grandma aged more than 100 years and an 8-foot-tall man.

Make-up artistes were specially brought from abroad. They worked long hours on Kamal to prepare him for each character. Make-ups varied from character to character and Kamal had a tough time with the make-up artistes, sources said.

One of the highlights was a Rs 2-crore replica of the Chidambaram temple erected at Pichavaram, near Chidambram to shoot a song. This dance scene has Kamal as an orthodox Brahmin and Napoleon as the King. The song, "Kallaimattum Kandaal Kadavul Theriyaadu, Kadvul Mattum Kandaal Kallu Theriyathu" has its beginning at the set and end at mid-sea, where the King put the Brahmin to death. Kamal was hung from height of 100 feet above sea. This breath-taking scene was shot for 15 days. A 60 sq.ft artificial sea was created off Royapuram, Chennai, for horrifying tsunami scenes.

In the climax all the ten characters played by Kamal appear in a single frame. A special feature of this scene is that Kamal is shown as bringing Chief Minister M. Karunaidhi to a function. A Karunanidhi look-alike, Ranganathan, is cast here. In only one scene Kalaignar Karunanidhi himself makes an appearance.

There are in all five songs in the film. The music has been scored by Himesh Reshammiya. It is said the film sans revenge, politics, family sentiments… No "kuthattam". There is not even a trace of Sivaji Ganesan's "Navarathri". But it is an irresistible entertainer, made to international standards.

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Dasavatharam