Vijay gives 'Chinna Asin' Poorna effusive welcome

A Malayalee teenager Poorna (Shamna Kasim), who lives in Kochi, is a new sensation in Kollywood. She makes her debut in "Muniyandi Vilayangiyal Moondrammaaandu (MVM), a film by the successful "Em Magan" team of director Thirumurugan, actors Bharat and Vadivel and music director Vidyasagar.

The audio of the film, produced by Datto Rena Duraisingam Pillai and Karunamoorthy, was released at a function held at the Asiana hotel on the outskirts of Chennai on June 24.

Vijay and Prabhu were among many stars who attended the function.

After the trailer, songs from the film were played for the invitees. Later, addressing the gathering, Vijay was effusive in welcoming Poorna. "The heroine of the film reminds me so much of Asin, especially in her dance movements and expressions. She has a bright future in Tamil cinema," he said. Taking the cue from Vijay, the other speakers also had a nice word to say about "Chinna Asin".

An excited Poorna said, "I was dumbstruck. Vijay is my favorite hero and I have seen "Pokkiri" four times. When he compared me with Asin 'Chechi', who is my role model, my day was made."

(A Malayalee Muslim born and brought up in Kannur, Poorna (18) had done three Malayalam films with Mohanlal as his foster sister in "Ali Bhai", as heroine's friend in "Flash" and as the second heroine in a flashback in "College Kumaran".)

Setting a precedent, director Thirumurugan requested music director Vidyasagar, lyricist Vaali and the singers to speak about the songs at the function. Four songs from the film were screened and before each song, the director, the music director, the lyricist and the singers spoke about the song and the experience of picturising it.

Lyricist Vairamuthu said the only platform available to lyricists, music directors and singers was audio release functions and this was perhaps the first function for the artistes associated with the music of the movie.

He had a word of caution about "kuthu' songs. "Kuthu" songs had been there since the times of Thyagaraja Bhagavathar. But it would become unbearable if a film had all "kuthu songs", and there could be at the most one 'Kuthu" song among ten songs. A dinner could be relished if the menu consisted of different dishes but one could not eat a plateful of pickles alone, he said. He also expressed himself against blindly following English movies and said if English movies reached the grassroot audience, Tamil cinema would flounder. "Our films should have good stories, emotions and reflect Tamil culture."

Music director Vidyasagar, who spoke next, said this function was different. Backing Vairamuthu, Vidyasagar said an audio release function should be an event in which the focus must be on the music of the film and those associated with it.

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Muniyandi Vilangiyal Moondramaandu