The much anticipated trailer of Ajith’s Vivegam was released on Wednesday night and it promises to be a solid entertainer. Going by the visuals, it looks like a high-budget action fest where Ajith’s character is a cross between Sylvester Stallone in Rocky and a suave international agent, say James Bond. To a large extent, the credit goes to Ajith’s amazing transformation. The actor is looking fitter than ever before and has also sports six-pack abs.
The trailer clearly gives us a glimpse of the film’s theme and it’s to rise against all odds. Ajith is described as the phoenix (bird) that rises out of the ashes. We have already seen how Ajith’s ‘never give up’ has become a youth anthem and found its way even on T-shirts.
We also get a quick glimpse of Ajith’s personal side and there are fleeting shots of Kajal Aggarwal, who plays his wife. This is the first time she has teamed up with Ajith and their pair has already drawn attention thanks to the promos. We are going to see Ajith in very different avatars - as a dutiful agent, as a loving and caring husband and finally as a revenge-seeking man. Vivek Oberoi’s role is going to be one of the highlights and it looks like he turns rogue and will locks horns with Ajith.
On August 24, along with its Tamil version, Vivegam will have a simultaneous release in Telugu and has been dubbed as Vivekam. Despite the fact that Ajith doesn’t have a good market in Telugu, it has to be seen if this project can break the bad luck and earn him a sizable following in Tollywood. Produced by Sathya Jyoti Films, Anirudh Ravichander has composed music for the film and the album has been received very well.
While Vivegam is among the most anticipated Tamil film of recent times (some hinting that this craze is bigger than even the madness around a Rajinikanth film), the one person who is upbeat is director Siva.
The film marks the third time collaboration of Ajith and Siva. They have worked before in Veeram and Vedalam and the reason their films are such a hit is because as persons too they connect.
Speaking to Firstpost, Siva reminiscences the times when they first came together for Veeram. Just five days into the shoot of that film and Ajith hinted to Siva that they would be making more films together. “He hinted at it (us working together again) on the sets of Veeram,” says Siva of teaming up with Ajith. “It was just five days since we had started the shoot and he called me all of a sudden and said, ‘I think we will be doing many more films in the future.’ Preoccupied with the shooting that day, I just gave a perfunctory nod and said, ‘Okay sir.’ I realised what he meant only after I wrapped up the shooting that day. I was puzzled about what impressed him, but then it was decided that my next film would be with him.”
Much of this trust comes from the fact that there is also a lot of respect for each other. “He (Ajith) respects a script writer’s space. He has never influenced my writing in any way. When I scripted Veeram, he said he would wear simple dhoti and shirt throughout the film, given the genre. Apart from that, he didn’t make me change any sequence or dialogues for him. I think that’s a unique attribute he has. He completely believes me, as a director or scriptwriter. His faith in me pushes me to do more, to improvise more.”
Vivegam is a Tamil film but Siva feels its impact is meant to be global as its emotions are universal and narrative style different. “Although the crux of Vivegam and the narrative style will be different, the emotions are universal, and the audience will connect to it easily. The emotional bond a husband and wife shares is a magnificent one. I have tried and succeeded in bringing that to the screen,” Siva says.
Vivegam created quite a bit of a buzz with regard to its pre-release business. While it was Baahubali 2 which set the standards really high for the rest at Rs 500 crore, Vivegam is said to have fetched Rs 120 crore prior to its release.
Follow @htshowbiz for more
