7AUM ARIVU: AS SIGNIFICANT AS ENDHIRAN!

In one of the most highly anticipated events in recent months, the audio of 7aum Arivu was launched last evening in a glittering ceremony at the Chennai Trade Center. The event was marked with the presence of many big names from the Tamil film industry showing that the film was indeed one that had garnered a lot of attention from all sides. As promised by the producer of 7aum Arivu Udhayanidhi Stalin of Red Giant Films, the event was nothing short of dazzling. It was marked with solo dance performances by Lakshmi Rai, Anjali and Abhinaya. Another major attraction was actor Jai, who anchored the event and regaled everyone with his wit and humor, especially with his use of the ‘Goa’ style English when interacting with Johnny Nuygens (Spiderman fame) who is part of the 7aum Arivu cast. The show stealer amongst all these was however a duo who put a breathtaking gymnastic performance on stage which had the entire audience on their feet applauding. There was also a very impressive martial arts performance.

Speaking at the event, Dhanush, who released the trailer said that the entire industry was abuzz with talk about 7aum Arivu. Almost everyone had an opinion about what the movie was going to deal with, especially with all the different kinds of get ups that Suriya has been seen in. He said that going by the look of things, the film was surely going to be one of the landmark films in Tamil cinema and lauded the team behind this great effort.

Karthi was all praise for the team, especially for his elder brother. He said that the amount of effort put into the film by Suriya was out of the ordinary, especially the 15 day specialized martial arts training that he underwent in order to shoot for some action sequences. He had no doubt that the film was going to be a major milestone in Tamil cinema, something equal to or even bigger than the impact that Endhiran had created.

Suriya was a bit understated. He said that the film came out of the desire to create something that would be far better than Ghajini. When he and A.R. Murugadoss decided to come together the decision was that the film they make should not be just another one, it should be a product that makes the whole of Tamil cinema proud. All their efforts were in this direction and he expressed confidence that the audience were going to like the end product.

Murugadoss also echoed the same thoughts as Suriya. He also said that making an ordinary entertainer was out of the question. That is what made him to delve into research on a variety of topics including history and science, which is where the idea for 7aum Arivu germinated, a story that touches upon history while being a futuristic science fiction. He hinted that the ancient Buddhist monk Bodhi Dharma was one of the characters of the film. The aim was to make a product that would set new benchmarks in Tamil cinema and one which would be challenging to him and Suriya.

Harris Jeyaraj said that the subject of the film was so unique that he too had to do a lot of research to find new and appropriate sounds for the film. He expressed confidence that the new endeavors would be liked by the audiences. Going by the response of the crowds, the answer was in the affirmative.

Shruthi Haasan thanked the team of 7aum Arivu for giving her such a path breaking debut into Tamil cinema. Producer Udhayanidhi Stalin gave all the credit of 7aum Arivu’s genesis to Suriya. He said that it was Suriya who introduced him to Murugadoss and gave the idea that the three of them should do a film together, which is how 7aum Arivu started. He said that the film will no doubt be a memorable one which would be spoken about for a long time to come.

The trailer and a few snippets of songs were played out on a huge digital screen set up for the occasion. The trailer too offered hints that Bodhi Dharma was one of the key characters in the film. Folklore has it that Bodhi Dharma was a Pallava prince born in Kancheepuram who converted to Buddhism and travelled to China, where he was referred to in some texts as the ‘Blue Eyed Barbarian’. We already know that there is a Chinese song in 7aum Arivu, so that is a few pieces of the puzzle which seems to be a very exciting one.

From what could be seen, every shot of the film seems to have been conceived with perfection and absolute attention to detail. The claims of all hose who had spoken did not look to be out of place as we eagerly await Diwali and the 7aum Arivu release.