There are only a few people who could grab the spotlight from Tamil superstar Rajnikanth. One of them is his 23-year old daughter, Soundarya Rajnikanth.
No, she hasn't acted in any films. Rather, it is a film she is making with her Dad that is generating a lot of interest.
The film is a 3D animation titled Sultan The Warrior which is produced by Soundarya's company's (Ocher Studios) along with Adlabs, and directed by her.
Shobha Warrier caught up with the pretty director to know more. Excerpts:
How did the film with your father happen?It started very small. My company (Ocher films) was already into visual effects and post production work. So, the next stage was to get into animation.
While I was travelling abroad I saw a couple of animation films. And it got me thinking. Here (India) we don't have those kinds of films. Animation abroad is considered as important as live action. For example, Shrek and Mission Impossible were appreciated and welcomed there. But this is not the case in India. I told myself, why don't I make one? Someone has to take the initiative and do it.
And this made you think of making a film with your father?
Yes, it did, because he is a superstar. I am such a fan of my father that I felt he deserved to be animated first. Appa is God to me. He is known for his style, mannerisms and gimmicks. If he could do so much in live action, imagine what he could do with animation? The sky is the limit. In Sultan too he does a lot of gimmicks.
So, it is my father's style that came to my mind the moment I thought of an animation film. You need someone stylish to get animated. I would say this film is a daughter's dedication to her father.
That's a very emotional statement...
Yes, it is. The film is very emotional for me because in the history of Indian entertainment, no Asian actor has been animated before. And, to me, this is my dedication to my father. The film is like making history, and it is making history.
Did he become emotional hearing that statement from you?
He did. The project is very personal to both of us. There is a lot of emotion involved in it because I am dedicating it to my father. It is good when there is sentiment attached to the project. You can't make a film without getting attached to it.
How did he react when you told your father that you were going to make an animation film on him?
He was very curious and also very excited. Again, animation is not known in India. It is new and it is a road that no one has travelled before.
So, his initial reaction was, animation? How is it going to be? And me as the hero?
I told him, Yes, Appa, you are going to be animated. Then I walked him through it and explained everything. He was very supportive, encouraging and very proud!
From the time I could remember, my parents have been extremely supportive of anything I want to do in life. My Dad is very involved in the project as it is his story.
Which part of his life are you going to animate?
It is not his life story; it is a story written by him.
Did he write the story for you?
No, he wrote the story to make it into a movie. But he never ended up doing it because Sultan's story is very, very grand. So, to make a live action movie, you require not only a gigantic budget but also a lot of effort by way of costumes, sets, etc. It is a huge undertaking because this is on the lines of Troy, Gladiator, etc. It is a film on a Warrior!
So, when I had this idea to make an animation film, Dad and I were discussing various ideas. Then, he gave me this story and said, 'develop this,' and I worked on it and went back to him with the screenplay. My father generally first approves the story of every film of his. Mr Rajnikanth approved the script and here we are doing the film!
Other than the story, what are the other areas he is involved with in the film?
He is giving his voice in the movie.
Only in Tamil?
Yes, as of now. We will think of the other languages later. He is also doing motion capture for the movie. Motion capture is a technology that is required for a 3D film. And I am shooting him live for reference.
How was the experience of directing your father?
I am yet to do it.
Are you dreading the day?
No, I am looking forward to it.
How will you treat him -- just as an actor?
Yes. When we were discussing things, it had always been between a director and an actor. But once home, we are father and daughter.
When we are on the floor, we are very professional. And, he is hundred percent a professional. Sultan is his film, and it will be his next release.
Was he your hero when you were young?He has always been my hero. I am a die-hard fan of my Dad!
When did you realise that your father was the superstar of Tamil Nadu?As long as I could remember. My father was a superstar when he got married. So, we grew up in that atmosphere. We have grown up watching his films and adored his every move. So, I can't really say when I realised he was the superstar because he has always been one for me!
What is it about his movies that you like?He is symbolic of the meaning of the word style! You look up the dictionary for the word style, and it means Rajnikanth! He is the most stylish man -- on and off screen too.
Can you be objective while directing him?I am a director and he is an actor in my film. So, he is an actor in my film, not my father.
But when I come back home, he is my Dad, and that will never change.
This type of objectivity would not have been possible when I was younger. When I was a kid, there were times when I saw him cry on screen. I would start crying too. I thought it was my father who was crying. I was too young to realise that it was the character he was playing that was crying. I also hated it when he was hit by villains. I would say, stop hitting my Dad!
How did he react when you told him that you were his greatest fan?He knows that. It is not that we sat down and I told him that. My sister and I go mad when his films are released. We would be yelling in the theatre like his other fans.
How was it growing up as the superstar's daughter? How were you treated in school?We didn't have a lot of privacy. A lot of people talk to you because you are his daughter. I am glad that I made lots of good friends.
Did you have a normal childhood?We had a very, very normal and simple upbringing. My Mom balances it out.
Everybody talks about how simple your father is in real life. The way he conducts himself in public is as a very simple person...
I admire that aspect of him. The more successful he is, the simpler he becomes. That is how it is for him. The more he achieves, the more humble he becomes. When people respect and admire him more, the more simple he becomes. He is such an amazing human being. He is like God for me. I can't say more.
Is it very difficult to emulate the kind of lifestyle he leads? No, no it's not like that. All of us are very, very simple people.
You went to Australia to study multimedia. Did it just happen, or have you always wanted to do something on these lines? I have always been interested in graphics and visual effects. I studied multimedia which is more technical. I never went to a film school. I came to know all about films from growing up with a superstar.
I came back from Australia and started Ocher and here is where we are today. I always knew I would be behind the camera.
You must have got a lot of offers to be in front of the camera too... I have, but I never got excited about it because I always knew I was the creative person who wanted to be behind the camera. I wanted to do something different.
Weren't you tempted at all to act in films? Acting? No, it never crossed my mind. Never.
Was it because you were more passionate about being behind the camera? Yes, I am more passionate about being behind the camera. I wanted to do something that was not done before. I wanted to create a benchmark. What I am doing is a first of its kind, and I am very passionate about this.
Is Sultan the Warrior a period film? Yes, it is a period film but I am not specifying the period. It is a story that happened a long time ago.
Are you excited or nervous about Sultan? I am excited and nervous too because it is a Rajnikanth film and people expect a lot. Being nervous makes me want to do more and take up more challenges.
Would you also be making feature films in future? Yes, definitely. And, I want to take Ocher to another level. I want to establish my company and also be a filmmaker. I want to balance both.
How difficult is it to be both a businesswoman as well as a filmmaker? The advantage is that both are interlinked. I am making my film completely out of my company. So, I know the kind of quality my company can give and the kind of quality I can get from my company. It works for me, by God's grace!
What kind of support do you get from your mother? She is the chairperson of my company. I studied in her school (Ashram School). She is very involved in the project and the company as well. All of us at Ocher go to her for advice.
So, do you think you inherited the entrepreneurial spirit from your mother and the creative spirit from your father? Believe me, my dad is a very good businessman. When he chooses his script and movies, he knows what he is doing. He is not only an actor, but a great businessman as well.
Does Ocher Studios do a lot of special effects for films? Yes, we do. Apart from making our own content, we do that too. By God's grace, we do have a good market share down south. I am expanding my facilities more and getting into Hindi film graphics this year.
We started with 12 people and now have 80 working for us. We will definitely come to Mumbai. We may also go overseas. As we are doing Sultan, we are scaling up the company too.
Do you feel that you have all those projects in the south because you are Rajnikanth's daughter? No, life has not been easy when I started out. Ours is a very young company -- we are only two years old. It's not that everybody would give you a job just because you are Rajnikanth's daughter. It's not like that.
On the contrary, it is more difficult because a lot of people are scared to give you work because they feel if something goes wrong, they can't question us. But we say, of course, you can question us. We are a company.
I went through all the problems that a start up company goes through, and I am still going through them. We are breaking into a market where there are already established companies.
Which was the first film you got to do special effects for? Chandramukhi and I must say the response has been good. Chandramukhi ran for 800 days. When your first film is a hit, you are sentimentally happy about it. I have worked only in Tamil so far. Now I am venturing in to Telugu and Hindi.
As a filmmaker, what kind of feature films do you like to make? I like to make fantasies. They are my favourite genre. I read a lot of Amar Chitra Katha. I was very interested in Indian mythological stories. I know Mahabharata and Ramayana thoroughly. I never read novels, however.
What kind of films do you watch? I watch all kinds of movies except horror.
Do you feel films have to have a message? Of course. But you can't say every movie has to have a message.
All your father's films have messages? Yes, they have. Sultan also has a message. When someone is in a place from where he can tell people to do good, he has to do it. The lyrics of every song of my Dad's have strong messages and people do follow them.
Like your father, are you also a spiritual person? Yes, I am a spiritual person. I have taken up his school of spirituality but I have never had the chance to go to the Himalayas. Hopefully, I will go there some day.
Do you believe in God? Of course, I do.
What's God to you? You said earlier that your father is like God to you... You can interpret what I said in many ways. When you say call someone God, it is like saying that you love and believe in that person completely. My father is irreplaceable. That is why I said he is like God to me.
Courtesy: Rediff.com
Soundarya is leaving no efforts to make 'Sultan The Warrior' a product that will be termed as an animation movie having the same kind of standard shown previously by all the hit animation films created by the leading film and animation studios in the world.