Though it is a common practice, among American filmmakers especially, to include ‘deleted scenes’ as a bonus feature in DVDs of their films, the trend is yet to catch on here in a big way. One of the reasons for it could be the lacklustre home video market where satellite television rights still call the shots.
In an interesting gesture to fans of his movie Jigarthanda , young director Karthik Subbaraj has recently released the scenes that did not make it past the editor’s snip in the final cut on the movie via his Facebook page.
The film itself seems to be on the way to becoming a cult classic and several fans have lapped up sequences featuring characters that have grown on them — from ‘Assault’ Sethu, film maker Karthik, his Oorni and that inimitable acting coach ‘Muthu Sir’ — in scenarios that advance the story rather nicely but could not be accommodated in the final cut. The videos have all been hosted on YouTube in Think Music India’s page.
The real pioneer though in Tamil cinema, when it comes to giving fans such peeks into the creative process, is of course Kamal Hassan. While releasing the audio cassette of his film Guna in 1991, Kamal included some audio recording sessions with music director Ilayaraja. In one of the most inspiring behind-the-screen material ever, the ‘maestro’ improvises on Kamal’s idea for the superhit song ‘Kanmani Anbodu Kadhalan’.
A call to all maestro fans
Are you a die-hard fan of veteran music director Ilayaraja? Here is a chance to prove your adulation and meet the maestro.
The Isaignani Fans Club, the official fans’ association, has recently announced a contest inviting fans to share their knowledge on the music director and his compositions.
J. Albert, vice-president of the club said: “The maestro has composed music for over 1,000 films in various languages, including Marathi. We want fans to share accurate information on the entire repertoire of his film career, including the director, singers, lyricists, number of songs, producer and year of release, for 1,000 movies starting with his first film Annakili .
The club, which is planning to bring out a compilation of Ilayaraja’s works, will compare the data in the entries to select the winner.
Fans may send the entries to 10, Navalar Main Road, Devaraj Nagar, Saligramam, Chennai-93 till November 30.
“We came up with this concept to encourage fans. The music composer himself will announce the prize later,” Albert said. The club, which was started early this year, has music director Karthik Raja as one of the trustees.
