Vikram, Ranjith, Parvathy on the ‘Thangalaan’ experience

Vikram starrer ‘Thangalaan’ was released on August 15 in South India in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam languages. The Pa Ranjith directed film also stars Parvathy Thiruvothu, Malavika Mohanan and others. ‘Thangalaan’ has garnered over Rs 100 crore at the box office since its launch. The makers released the Hindi version after two weeks of its release on September 6. During a media interaction Vikram, Ranjith and Parvathy opened about their film, the inspiration behind the story, and more.

Vikram is seen in a different avatar in the film, for which not only did he have to undergo weightloss, but also sport a different hairdo. It took him almost five hours every day to get ready for his role, but that was no problem for him, as he said, “I always wanted to be an actor and I always say that make your hobby as your profession then you don’t have to work one day in your life. I am not working, I am just enjoying what I love the most.”

Speaking about the response that the film has received, he said, “We are just happy that our film ‘Thangalaan’ is reaching every corner of India. This film has a message and with this film Ranjith has tried to do something new, something that is out of the box. We are so happy that it is being accepted in Telugu states and the number of screens has increased. The film is doing great in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu as well. Now, we want the rest of the world to see our film. ‘Thangalaan’ is not just any other film that is making a lot of money; it is a film where we worked really hard, put in some inspired performances. Hence, it will be nice if more people appreciate it and see it.”

Explaining the reason behind releasing Hindi version bit late, director Ranjith said, “It is a conscious decision to release the Hindi version late, because we were not getting good screen count. It is a heavy traffic year as far as films are concerned and also we have released it in the Southern states and then decided to release it two weeks later.”

Speaking about his film with a message, Ranjith said, “It is a story of Kolar Gold Fields, which is an entirely different world – people there fought against casteism, capitalism and communalism, besides it was not a easy task to mine gold that time. People believed that ghosts were holding it and protecting it, so if you touch the gold it will be bad. There are many folklores and mythologically they are connected somewhere. In Lord Buddha’s version, there was a king called Naga who protected the gold and he followed Lord Buddha. I am sure that when the audience gets to know the story, they will be excited about it.”

Actress Parvathy, who was earlier seen in the film ‘Qarib Qarib Single’ along with Irrfan Khan, is playing Vikram’s wife in the film. Sharing her experience of working with Vikram and Ranjith, she said, “Whatever work you have seen today, I would not have been able to do that without Vikram. My co-star Malavika is ferocious as Aarati in this film. I look up to Ranjith as a filmmaker, for the magical realism and stunning visuals that he brings in his films. I think he has done some inner reflection here. I have always said that the cinematic medium has a huge power and is quite influential. He understands that power and creates something magical out of it. I am happy to have played a small part in it and enjoyed while doing it.”

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