Vishal: In six months, the nation will see Tamil cinema in a positive light

After a 48-day-long shutdown, the Tamil film industry is slowly bouncing back. Mercury released last week and Diya is slated to hit theatres this Friday. Industry events such as press meets and audio launches have also made a comeback . The grand launch of the audio and trailer of Mr Chandramouli at Sathyam Cinemas, Chennai, on April 25 served as a reunion for the industry and was attended by many from the fraternity.

Directed by Thiru and produced by Dhananjayan Govind, the film has an ensemble cast list of actors such as Karthik, his son Gautham Karthik, Sathish, Regina Cassandra, Varu Sarathkumar, Santhosh Prathap, Mahendran, Agathiyan, Mime Gopi and Viji Chandrasekhar. Sam CS has scored the music, Richard Nathan is the DOP and T.S. Suresh has taken care of the edits. Here are some highlights from the almost three-hour-long event:

• Suriya attended the event despite being at a shoot for NGK till 2am. His sister, Brindha Sivakumar, makes a singing debut in this film. Suriya said he was proud to see her finally fulfill her childhood dream of becoming a playback singer. After his speech, the star made a quick and quiet exit.
• Veteran Karthik charmed the audience with his charisma. Each time his name or that of Gautham Karthik was mentioned, it elicited cheers from those present. Director Gaurav and Sathish did not shy away from public displays of affection with the actor. Most of the speakers fondly recalled Karthik's famous 'Mr Chandramouli' dialogue from Mouna Ragam, saying that scene was the benchmark for romance even today.
• Gautham Karthik became emotional while speaking about working with his dad for the first time. He said that as a child, he did not often visit the spots where his father was shooting. Gautham plays a boxer in the film and the trailer hints at a commercial movie featuring fatherly sentiment, some romance and an action thriller angle. The trailer does not reveal Varu's role, which is said to add an element of surprise to the film. Director Thiru said he enjoyed writing her role the most.
• Two songs were screened, one of which was the beach number Yedhedho Aanenea featuring Gautham Karthik and Regina Cassandra. It drew praise for the actress' glamorous look and her costumes. A few of those present said they wondered whether the censors would let the song pass without some cuts, given its risque nature.
• Many actors, directors and producers, such as Arya, Vijay Antony, Shanthnu, Suseenthiran, A.L.Vijay, Arivazhagan, Kannan, Sasi, Gaurav Narayanan, Arun Vaidyanathan, S.R. Prabhu, Madan, A.L. Azhagappan, P.L.Thenappan and P.S.Raghunathan, attended the event. TFPC president and general secretary of the Nadigar Sangam, Vishal, was the chief guest. He was the last to take the stage.
• Vishal said they had lined up all Tamil releases till June. He added that in six months, the nation would see Tamil cinema in a positive light. He also said that Gautham had stabilised his career after a rocky start, just like how Vijay had done many years ago. Vishal, who has done three films with director Thiru, fondly recounted the famous underwater romance scene with Lakshmi Menon in Naan Sigappu Manithan and drew a parallel to the beach song in Mr Chandramouli, drawing chuckles from the audience.

Producer Dhananjayan said that they plan to release the film on May 25, provided that they get the go-ahead from the TFPC.