Never tinker with the original
Says Ghajini director Murugadoss who is set to release the Hindi version of his Tamil film Thuppakki
Film-makerA R Murugadoss , who is awaiting the release of his latest Hindi directorial Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty, which is the remake of his own Tamil film Thuppakki, says a remake should never deviate from the “proven and tested” path of the original.
“A remake is made because it has already been proven and tested. So why would anybody want to make changes to it? If a film is remade by the same director, changes will be avoided because they've given their best to make the original successful and would only like to repeat the formula,“ Murugadoss said.
Akshay plays anArmy officer in the film, which revolves around a network of sleeper cells planning a terrorist attack. Murugadoss chose Akshay because he couldn't imagine any other actor more suitable for the lead role.
“I wanted to work with Akshay sir soon after Ghajini, but I wanted a different character for him. It then struck me that he would be more apt in the role of an Army officer because he's extremely fit. I couldn't think of a better actor in that role,” he said.
He says as a film-maker, he is never bogged down by the pressure of making a blockbuster.
“I'm never asked to make a Rs100- crore club film and neither do I feel there’s pressure while working. I always aim to make good films that entertain audiences. I never made Ghajini and Thuppakki as Rs 100 crore films. (But) I'm glad they turned out to be blockbusters,” he added.
Holiday... is presented by Reliance Entertainment and produced by Vipul Shah. Known for collaborating with superstars such as Vijay,Chiranjeevi , Aamir Khan, Ajith Kumar and Suriya, Murugadoss plans to work with newcomers as well as upcoming stars. “All my stories so far have been star hero-centric. I also made some films because a certain star wanted to work with me and I couldn't say ‘no’. But I plan to change as I'm always keen on working on stories that would not require star actors. I want to work with newcomers and relatively new stars,” he said. He, however, has produced successful Tamil films with newcomers as well as upcoming stars.
“I'm still learning the business to be a great producer. I have been producing low-budget films with newcomers because I didn't want to burn my fingers by straight away producing a star-studded film,“ he said.
“Since I've been successful as a producer, I plan to make films with star actors as well. In fact, my next production venture is with a star in Tamil,” he added. Murugadoss is currently producing a Tamil film with actor Vikram. Vijay Milton of Goli Soda fame is helming this project.
He also plans to return to Telugu industry to direct a film soon. His last Telugu directorial was the unsuccessful Stalin, starring Chiranjeevi.
“I plan to return to the Telugu industry soon. If everything works out, it might even happen next year,” he said The filmmaker is also known for repeating actors in his films. He has worked with Suriya in two films, while his second film with Vijay titled Kaththi is on floors. Is this a sentiment he follows?
“It's not a sentiments. Sometimes the actors come back to me after a successful film and at times I go back to them if I have a suitable story. It has always been like that,“ he said.
Film-maker
“A remake is made because it has already been proven and tested. So why would anybody want to make changes to it? If a film is remade by the same director, changes will be avoided because they've given their best to make the original successful and would only like to repeat the formula,“ Murugadoss said.
In Holiday..., he has not tried to change much. “There are minor changes, but there will also be a resemblance with the original and I don't mind it because it's my film at the end of the day, and I would always like to do justice to it,” he added.
Akshay plays an
“I wanted to work with Akshay sir soon after Ghajini, but I wanted a different character for him. It then struck me that he would be more apt in the role of an Army officer because he's extremely fit. I couldn't think of a better actor in that role,” he said.
He says as a film-maker, he is never bogged down by the pressure of making a blockbuster.
“I'm never asked to make a Rs100- crore club film and neither do I feel there’s pressure while working. I always aim to make good films that entertain audiences. I never made Ghajini and Thuppakki as Rs 100 crore films. (But) I'm glad they turned out to be blockbusters,” he added.
Holiday... is presented by Reliance Entertainment and produced by Vipul Shah. Known for collaborating with superstars such as Vijay,
“I'm still learning the business to be a great producer. I have been producing low-budget films with newcomers because I didn't want to burn my fingers by straight away producing a star-studded film,“ he said.
“Since I've been successful as a producer, I plan to make films with star actors as well. In fact, my next production venture is with a star in Tamil,” he added. Murugadoss is currently producing a Tamil film with actor Vikram. Vijay Milton of Goli Soda fame is helming this project.
He also plans to return to Telugu industry to direct a film soon. His last Telugu directorial was the unsuccessful Stalin, starring Chiranjeevi.
“I plan to return to the Telugu industry soon. If everything works out, it might even happen next year,” he said The filmmaker is also known for repeating actors in his films. He has worked with Suriya in two films, while his second film with Vijay titled Kaththi is on floors. Is this a sentiment he follows?
“It's not a sentiments. Sometimes the actors come back to me after a successful film and at times I go back to them if I have a suitable story. It has always been like that,“ he said.
