Producers, directors plan to rope in Rajnikanth, Kamal Hassan, AR Rahman and Ilayaraja to felicitate Karunanidhi.
CHENNAI: When AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa was seeking re-election in May, her poll bandwagon glittered with Kollywood stars. Now, after she lost power to DMK leader M Karunanidhi, Kollywood is gearing up to flatter the Dravidian ‘Kalaignar’ (artiste) with a star-studded felicitation.
Jointly organised by the Tamil Film Producers’ Council (TFPC) and the Tamil Film Directors’ Council (TFDC), the event to be held in the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on September 23 aims to bring together Tamil stars Rajnikanth and Kamal Hassan and music directors Ilayaraja and AR Rahman. “It will have songs, dances, skits and more. We want to make it the biggest ever live show by Kollywood,” TFPC president Rama Narayanan told DNA.
The organisers reel out reasons to sing Karunanidhi’s paeans. “The entire industry is happy with the chief minister’s decision to waive entertainment tax for movies with Tamil titles and reduce the outdoor shooting fees,” said TFDC president SA Chandrasekhar.
While the installation of a statue of thespian Sivaji Ganesan on Beach Road and a government grant of Rs 95 lakh for a movie on ‘Periyar’ (father of Dravidianism) are reasons enough for the pro-DMK section in Kollywood to celebrate, the tentative title of the song is a give away of political flattery. “We are considering the title ‘Thalai Sooriyan’ (‘The Leading Sun,’ a clear connotation of ‘rising sun,’ the DMK’s poll symbol),” Narayanan said.
Kollywood’s association with politics dates back to the 1950s when Karunanidhi scripted dialogues for MGR and Sivaji Ganesan. Later, Jayalalithaa appeared on the silver screen as MGR’s heroine. Besides regards of the past, Kollywood has concerns of the present. At least four recent movies, which were held up after the Animal Welfare Board raised objections, were cleared for screening after filmmakers and actors called on Karunanidhi separately.
Besides the coming together of Rajnikanth and Kamal (who shared the dais with Karunanidhi at the unveiling of the Sivaji Ganesan statue), the highlight would be a couple of songs to be written and composed by the best in Kollywood in praise of Karunanidhi, to which all the stars will shake a leg.
“The idea was to have a theme song in praise of Karunanidhi, to be written by lyricists Vaali and Vairamuthu and composed by Rahman and Ilayaraja. Now this appears too ambitious and we are planning two different songs,” an industry source said.
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