After a fun-filled three days on the cruise Superstar Virgo, where the cast and crew were treated to performances, food etc. from across the globe, the people responsible for acting and making the Golden Arrow of Kollywood landed in Singapore on Saturday, 20th November, 2010. The audio launch was planned at the Singapore Expo where, approximately, 8000 people were estimated to watch the function live. The program was sponsored by Vijay TV and hence had Mano and Chitra participate with the ‘junior singers’ and artists from the "Who is the next Prabhu Deva" show.
The launch function, which entertained people for nearly 3 1/2 hours, was hosted by Vijay TV fame Gopinath and DD. Though the list of invitees was limited to Manmadhan Ambu's team, it was an evening to remember, nonetheless. The mood was relaxed and upbeat and who better than KS Ravikumar and Kamal Haasan to liven up everyone's spirits. Though there weren't any prominent speeches from anyone, it was the little humour anecdotes from Kamal and others that had everyone in splits.
Trisha, who usually does not speak or spend much time on stage other than dancing, did not hide her excitement when she was on stage cheered by everyone. More than just appearing on stage, she was asked to sing a song alongside Kamal (Kamal Kavithai). When asked about her performance, a blushing Trisha said that the credit goes to Kamal as he was the one who persuaded her for her stage act. Informing that this was her first ever stage act, Trisha said that she had said ‘No’ to Kamal sir more than 1000 times but still he persuaded her to sing with him. "Please ask Kamal sir if you have any questions about my performance", she said smilingly.
Kamal shed 30 years of his life and was as enthusiastic as a man in his late 20s. Occasionally barging into others' speeches, he spiced up the whole evening with his wit and humour. One such incident was when Gopinath was heaping superlatives after another on Kamal Haasan when calling him on stage. Kamal immediately asked Gopinath to stop and said, "I think I will start believing in whatever you say" for which Gopinath replied, "Sir this is one of the very few chances we get to appreciate you. You deserve every praise”.
Kamal Haasan in one word
Ramesh Aravind was a man of few words. When asked to describe Kamal Haasan in one word, Ramesh Aravind thought and thought and thought and finally said that it was too difficult to contain Kamal in one word. He said that he can talk about Kamal all day long but if there is one word he has to use, he would say 'Inspiration'. The reason he said was that Kamal has been a source of inspiration for so many people to enter the cinema industry.
The film's producer Udhayanidhi Stalin was not in a mood to talk for long either. He made his speech short and crisp by saying that Kamal is like God to many. "He is the reason for me venturing into cinema", he said to a thundering applause.
Dum pudichi ennala paada mudiyathu..
The most-awaited part of the evening was Kamal's performance and he did not disappoint. Kamal and Trisha, together, sang and recited 'Kamal Kavithai' and Kamal also sang one more song to a spell-bound audience.
While Suchitra sang to Oyyale, Andrea crooned to 'Who is the hero'. Her voice and control even in high-pitch sequences raised everyone's eyebrows. Appreciating Andrea's performance, Kamal quipped "I cannot sing like Andrea at all. Ennala avlo dum pudichi paada mudiyathu (I can't sing holding my breath for so long)".
The trailer and audio launch
The trailer of Manmadhan Ambu was screened to the audience and got tremendous reception. The bull-ring sequence was the talking point of the evening.
The audio launch was a never-been-done-before event. If we thought launching in Singapore was the highlight, the way in which the audio was released would be remembered by many for a very long time. When the time was ripe to release the CD, KS Ravikumar called Trisha and Madhavan to invite men and women from the public who had gathered. In an unusual incident, residents and fans of Singapore found themselves on stage with the’ man’ himself.
While Kamal distributed the first copies to the men present, Trisha gave it to the women on stage. It was so heartening to see this wonderful gesture. KS Ravikumar informed the gathering that it was Kamal's idea to release the CD to the public rather than giving it to the crew members. "This is the first time in the history of Tamil cinema such thing has happened and all the credit goes to Kamal for this excellent idea", praised Ravikumar.
Manmadhan Ambu has the 'matter'
Can KS Ravikumar be hidden in such a grand ceremony? Not at all, as he was in his usual self addressing the 8000-odd crowd. He had everyone in splits with his one-liners and statements. Talking about Manmadhan Ambu, he said that it has all the ingredients and necessary 'matter' in it making everyone present to applaud and laugh for atleast a minute. "It will be an entertaining and enterprising movie with the usual KS Ravikumar stamp", he assured. He thanked each and every member of the crew and also gave a special note of thanks to dance master Sagar. Revealing that Kamal does not appreciate and approve anyone so easily, he said that music director Devi Sree Prasad has a very bright future as Kamal had personally told his admiration for DSP's music.
Gowthami is not on a picnic
Referring to Gowthami, who also attended the function, KSR told that she is not on a picnic. "Gowthami is the costume designer of the movie and is responsible to show Kamal as a young lad", said Ravikumar. He also told that he was impressed with her costume designs in Dasavatharam. He added that he was stuck in awe when he met Kamal two weeks after he narrated the script. A surprised KSR said, "I could not believe he was Kamal as he had lost so much weight".
Yaavarum Kelir
Talking about Yaavarum Kelir, the project which was announced earlier by Kamal, Ravikumar said that Yaavarum Kelir got shelved due to non availability of dates. "It is a project which will take atleast 1 1/2 years to complete. But since Kamal only had 6-8 months of his time, we decided on Manmadhan Ambu. “I'm sure Kamal will make Yaavarum Kelir soon", Ravikumar assured.
One of a kind
This is the first time that two major TV channels joined hands to present an audio launch. Vasantham Tamil Central, a popular Tamil channel in Singapore, and Vijay TV collaborated to present the audio release to viewers. We hope that this culture will also emanate in India, murmured a few.
The gala function was attended by the film's cast and crew which included Ramesh Aravind, director KS Ravikumar, Udhayanidhi Stalin, Mrs. Kiruthika Stalin, Gowthami, singers Andrea, Suchitra along with Kamal Haasan, Madhavan, Trisha, Sangeetha and music director Devi Sree Prasad.
Content Courtesy - Behindwoods
