Saamaniyan will cater to my 80s fans and social media audience, says actor Ramarajan
The team of Saamaniyan-- the star of the 80s, actor Ramarajan, director Rahesh, actor Naksha Saran and producer Mathiyalagan were in the office of DT Next to talk about the film at length. The team talks about how Ramarajan still enjoys a huge fanfare wherever the crew shot for the film
(L-R) Naksha Saran, Rahesh, Ramarajan and Mathiyalagan
CHENNAI: A white SUV enters our office premise and everyone around is eager to know who the celebrity is in the front row. When they see actor Ramarajan slowly getting out of the car, they mob him. "This is not only the case on EVK Sampath Road. We are quite used to this wherever we have been shooting for Saamaniyan. In Madurai, a huge crowd was always present to catch a glimpse of him," says Mathiyalagan, the film's producer.
It has been 15 years since Ramarajan appeared on the big screen. However, the fans he amassed with his choice of scripts in the 80s have made advance ticket bookings across Tamil Nadu for Saamaniyan. "I shouldn't be letting them down. Also I had it in the back of the mind that my film should also cater to the present generation audience. Director Rahesh ensured that Saamaniyan strikes a fine balance. It is a film for the audience in A centre as well as in C centre. Moreover, Ilaiyaraaja anna's music has added more strength to the story as well as the team," says Ramarajan.
This will be Naksha's second film after Margazhi Thingal, which had her in dual shades. "Saamaniyan is technically my debut as I shot for the film before Margazhi Thingal. I play Ramarajan sir's daughter in the movie. His fans in Madurai were convinced that I am his biological daughter and were asking me if dad ate on time and when would they get to see him. Also, the role I play has some suspense to it. Though I cannot divulge, the experience was amazing," she says with a smile.
Rahesh and Mathi add that Ramarajan was their obvious choice when the script was locked. "Though we had options, we kept going back to Ramarajan sir. However, we did not know about his whereabouts. We wanted to get in touch with him and pitch the story idea. Now, we are glad that the film is set to release," they remark. Ramarajan says, "Saamaniyan as my 45th film is special. I did not go anywhere and you can always find me in Saligramam. There were several other scripts I listened to but I wasn't convinced. Rahesh's narration and story impressed me so much that I couldn't refuse," he signs off.