Peter Haynes: Stunts should be fantastic

Though said in a lighter vein, it is also a fact  that producers sign Peter Haynes before finalizing the star cast. It is no trade secret that top actors insist on the mandatory presence of this stunt master par excellence and the numbers are increasing with action movies becoming the order of the day.
For Peter, the real challenge is in period films where a lot of homework has to be done regarding the weapons used and the kind of fights prevalent then. Peter said his creative side was tested to the brim in the recent Telugu hit Magadheera, which had a huge background of historic relevance.
Without subscribing to the view that every storyline needs a fight sequence, Peter says fight sequences must by grand and worth remembering. When movies are all about grandeur in the songs, why should there be a compromise in the fights, Peter asks with justification. “You have to accept that movies are an exaggerated versions transporting the audience to a different world. In the three hours they surrender to us, we have a job to please them and in a magnitude depending on the budget,” says Peter without batting an eyelid.
Indian producers are not out seeking the Hollywood flavour; they come to him for the quality he provides, avers Peter. “I too worked with in a few Hollywood films and am richer by that on all counts,” says Peter with honesty.
Peter did not reveal much on Endhiran except the nugget that being a superstar movie, the fights had to have that extra zing and style. “I Know my work on the screen is appreciated when audiences shriek with delight seeing their heroes bashing the baddies,” said Peter with a smile.



Courtesy: galatta.com

Peter Hein for & on 'Sultan'

Action and stunts have always appealed the young and old. A good action sequence can help in a movie’s success. And movies like Murattu Kalai, Sathriyan, Captain Prabhakaran, Suriyan, Jai Hind, Sakalakala Vallavan, Satya, Dheena were well enjoyed by viewers and raised the movie’s status. The dhishum-dhishum responsibility is mainly shouldered by the action director or the stunt master. A movie’s action sequence is the outcome of sweat-pain and creativity efforts, of these stunt choreographers.

Coming to the current scenario, a name that stands tall amidst the action field is Peter Hein. He is the man who grabbed an important place in cinema for his unique way of presenting Hollywood fights in Tamil style. His action sequence in movies like ‘Run’, ‘Mazhai’, and ‘Bose’ stands testimony for his talent and impressed one and all. He directed the fights in Hindi for Aamir Khans ‘Ghajini’. In Telugu he gave ‘Chatrapathi’ and the recent ‘Maghadheera’ with Chiru's son Ramcharan Tej. Who can forget the astounding stadium action sequence of ‘Anniyan’? Well, it was choreographed by this brilliant mind.

Peter Hein might have directed many fighting scenes but he says the one movie which very close to his heart is ‘Sultan The Warrior’. This Soundarya Rajnikanth’s venture was very interesting and challenging for this ace stunt director. Even though movie is mainly based on animation, it includes stunts that look too real. Peter Hein along with Soundarya had traveled to France and Vietnam to capture the best shots of the martial sequences; as the best expertise were said to be found there. Worthy to be mentioned, Peter Hein had also directed our Superstar, Rajinikanth in ‘Sivaji’ before.

So people gear up to see Peter Hein’s creative fights in this Superstar’s animation flick.

Courtesy: indiaglitz.com

Raavan shoot halted after smoke effect makes forest officials see red

The shoot of Mani Ratnam's Raavan in an Ooty forest came to a smokin' halt, Monday night. Excessive use of the smoke effect (created artificially, without burning stuff up) drew the attention of forest officials in the area.

Stuck: Govinda and Mani Ratnam

A source reveals, "Mani was shooting an action sequence with Govinda. The scene required a heavily smoked-up effect. The shoot started at around 8 pm and was stopped within an hour when forest officers reached the location. The thick smoke-filled location had the officials seeing red.
The shoot came to an abrupt stop and everyone was instructed to pack up. Mani then spoke to the officials for over an hour and assured them that no harmful chemicals would be used."
The source continues, "The shoot began by 11 pm. Govinda, who ironically plays a forest officer was enacting his action sequences with action director Sham Kaushal. Earlier action director Peter Hein was on board, but since he has fractured himself, Sham was taken as a replacement. The shoot goes on till the wee hours in the morning. The cast and crew rest in the day and start work at night."
This is not the first time the unit has run into problems with the forest officials. Earlier, the Kerala Forest Division had asked the cast and crew to move out due to illegal construction in one of their forests. Govinda remained unavailable for comment.

Courtesy: mid-day.com

Mani Ratnam impressed by Rajni’s Sivaji

Impressed by the stunts in Sivaji – The Boss, ace director Mani Ratnam has roped in the stunt director Peter Hains for his forthcoming bilingual film Ravan. Peter Hains has carved a niche for himself in the Indian film industry by choreographing stunt scenes for various films including Sivaji, Gajini (Hindi version) and Anniyan.

The film’s shooting had to be stalled when the lead pair, Abishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, were held up in Mumbai owing to the ill health of Amitabh Bachchan. Sources have it that shooting will recommence after Diwali. Ravan – the Hindi version - stars Abishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the lead role with Vikram playing the antagonist. In the Tamil version Vikram and Aishwarya Rai play the lead roles and Prithviraj plays the villain role.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Rajini will ‘act’ in Sultan The Warrior

KEEPING the word about Sultan The Warrior being 90 percent realism in animation, Soundarya Rajinikanth,MD,Ocher Studios, and stunt master Peter Hein are in Vietnam now, shooting the action sequences of this film, which will animate the superstar.

Following the system followed by animation movies of world standard, most of the scenes of the film will really be shot, before they are animated and exaggerated. It is only for this reason that the crew is now in Vietnam, trying to capture original Vietnamese stunts.

Meanwhile, Rajinikanth,who has agreed to lend his voice for the animated version, will also be acting out his entire portion for the movie. But his dates for the movie have not been fixed and Soundarya Rajinikanth, producer and director of the movie, is waiting for the Superstar to give her dates.

The movie will have music by AR Rahman, art by Thotta Tharani and is set for an April 2009 release.

Courtesy: newindpress.com

Vietnamese fighters in 'Sultan The Warrior'

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.

For giving a particular action scene the maximum perfection which can be achieved, Soundarya along with the action choreographer of the film Peter Hein have gone to Vietnam.

The action scenes which will be shot in Vietnam will not be seen in the film as everyone knows the film is a fully animated one and do not require real actors.

The head of Ocher studios and her team of technicians are in Vietnam to shoot the action shots just for using it as reference points for similar scenes to be shown in 'Sultan The Warrior'.

But then why Vietnam and why it is being shot using some fighters of that country when there is enough and more facilities and junior artists right here in Chennai, is a question that can pop up.

The native fighters who are participating in the action scenes can be only found in Vietnam and they are the only ones in the world who are capable of doing the action scenes which are required as per the necessity of the story of 'Sultan The Warrior'.

These fighters are labeled as guys who can even challenge the laws of gravity and come out with stunning, unbelievable flexible movements as never seen before.

'Sultan The Warrior' is already hot in the film circles because of the reason that Superstar Rajinikanth will be seen in a complete 3D animation avatar for the first time.

Now this news of this variety action scene has added up to the excitement surrounding the film.

Watch Sultan The Warrior Trailer

Indiaglitz will give you more instant updates of "Sultan the warrior".

Courtesy: indiaglitz.com

The boss that ruled the year

When you look back at 2007 in terms of cinema, you can’t miss Sivaji – the boss of 2007. No film in the history of Tamil cinema has evoked such expectations before and after release.

A report in Financial Express (25.12.07) reveals that, according to Google, Sivaji - The Boss was the second most searched film among the top searches in India for 2007, only after Spiderman. This clearly shows the unbelievable expectations and excitement the film by the superstar has evoked.

This is probably the first time in the long history of Indian cinema that a South Indian film attracted national and international attention. The film with an unprecedented budget made into the headlines of almost all national television channels.

The dream combination did work. The reputed production house AVM, the most sought after director Shankar, the musical wizard of India A.R. Rahman, and the undisputed king of box office, superstar Rajinikanth – when you have these names in a single venture, it is ought to be a great sensational and it turned out to be exactly the same.

The Swashbuckling release of the film happened on June 15. Sivaji was released in 2 languages, Tamil as well as the dubbed version in Telugu. It opened in 2,900 theatres in 27 countries across the globe. 700 prints were released against 450 prints of Rajani’s earlier movie ‘Chandramukhi’.

Many films were withdrawn from the fray after the unprecedented opening of Sivaji - The Boss. The film even had a good run in north India. Mind you, there was no dubbing and no sub titles. Finally it went on to become a blockbuster.

In UK, the movie entered the box-office earned about £14 thousand per screen and the first South Indian movie to enter UK Top 10, a real big recognition for Tamil movies in international market. In USA, Sivaji was released in 24 theaters with 19 more added subsequently for the Tamil version and 21 theaters ran the Telugu version.

What made Sivaji so special? The above mentioned combination was ably supported by write Sujatha’s sharp dialogues and amazing stunt choreography of Peter Heinz. To add colour to the fare Shankar has roped in the likes of Prabhudeva, Raju Sundaram, Lawrence, and Brinda to make the song sequences as unique experience. Thota Tharani’s sets for the songs were breathtaking. Vivek provided sensible support by his comical sense. And you had sensual Shriya to put the screen on fire.

The way Shankar presented Sivaji is undoubtedly one of the highpoints of Sivaji. We are not mentioning about the 'fair' Rajini alone. The way he looked in the entire movie was something special. Shankar has also portrayed him as a modern day educated youth and worked out his style and dialogues accordingly. The ‘cool’ way of talking and the ease with which he handled modern gadgets added colour to the character.

As a result of all such ingredients, Sivaji triumphed like anything and emerged as a front runner in all aspects. Rajini proved his mettle even after 30 years of his entry into filmdom.

So, Rajini emerges winner of 2007 with his inimitable style.

Courtesy: IndiaGlitz.com