* Superstar, now Sultan * Cinema Soundarya Rajnikant's "Sultan The Warrior" promises some romance, some villainy, some comedy – and of course plenty of action. SUDHISH KAMATH reports PHOTO: S.R.Raghunathan
* Doing dad proud Soundarya * The pointed shoes of a warrior kicks up some dust. The camera swoops down to the ruins where we spot the lone warrior as his robe gently flutters in the wind. He brandishes his mighty shining sword. The camera pans upwards to reveal his face. ItR 17;s Superstar, looking about 20 years younger, he has an ear-ring and almost meditatively blinks for half a second. A film by Soundarya Rajnikant, reads the title card. A low angle shows him raise the sword as he kneels to flash it at the camera. Cut to the title card which reads: Superstar Rajnikant in and as…We see him posing right atop a minar, he dives in slow-motion and descends majestically, like Neo in "The Matrix"… only that, here the setting is medieval. And, BlaaZe begins his Sultan rap in English as swordsmen who probably worked in Frank Miller's "300" try to attack Superstar from all sides. Next comes the part where they all go flying in different directions, crashing into bamboo. And a mid-shot shows Superstar swagger towards us in slow-motion. Speaking different languages "Sultan The Warrior" has begun his journey and he'll reach cinemas around the world speaking in 12 different languages. "There's a heroine, there's a comedian, there's a villain… As an *appa* fan myself, whatever you expect from his films, I've made sure you will find it in this film too. It's an amazing feeling directing my father," first-time director and second daughter, Soundarya Rajnikant told mediapersons at the launch of the Sultan Trailer 2. The first teaser trailer was out when "Sivaji" released last year. "As a father, he was very, very proud. As an actor, he was so understanding. Initially, we talked about whatever doubts he had and after that, he was very supportive." A. R. Rahman will compose five songs. "We will also have one English title song for which we are trying to rope in an international artiste. Thota Tharrani has done the art direction. This trailer and the movie will be executed in Chennai by the 80-member Ocher team in Chennai," she said, speaking about her collaboration with Adlabs. Soundarya seemed unfazed by the questions. In the first half of the press meet, she made sure she covered the vitals: thanked parents, dedicated the film to her father, boosted the team's morale by introducing them, credited Adlabs for funding the 10 million-dollar project. Her team had spent the last six to eight months doing pre-production. And she assured journalists and fans present at INOX for the launch of the trailer that Sultan would be "technically one of the superior quality films we've seen in India." She probably saw the questions coming. Will you act? "Never in front of the camera, always behind." Will she direct commercial films? "Definitely, by God's grace." Apparently, "Sultan" is not rooted in the Ramayana or the Mahabharata. "It's not a story you would've heard before. It is *appa*'s story, I did the screenplay. It's a fresh script I've animated. It's my dedication to my father's contribution to the film industry, a daughter's gift to her father." "'Sultan' will have whatever you've seen my father do, until now, with new elements added to it… Again, in animation, the sky is the limit. There are no restrictions, if I want to take the camera and zoom it in 100 km, I can do it in animation… Since there are no restrictions in possibilities, in terms of *appa*'s mannerisms and gimmicks in 'Sultan', you can see it a 100 times. There are many 'punch dialogues' in the film, I have written a couple already." Offended by a question posed by a journalist earlier (If Soundarya was doing it to promote her father or her father was doing it to promote her), Chairman of Ocher, Latha Rajnikant sought to clarify: "This is a film that will make India and Tamil Nadu proud. It gives skilled people an opportunity, a platform. We are not creating a platform for ourselves, it is for others." It was too early to reveal more about the story, she said. More details in December. Watch this space. *http://www.hindu.com/mp/2008/01/15/stories/2008011550010100.htm* -- Regards, V SRINIVASA KRISHNAN
