Actor Surya Blog: Power of Seven - The Hindu Article

Actor Surya Blog: Power of Seven - The Hindu Article:

With 7am Arivu set for release soon, director A. 

R. Murugadoss opens up on the various aspects 

of this year's much-awaited film.

Quite unprepared for the small frame and self-

conscious demeanour of the person before me 

who was introduced as the director of the film, I 

blinked, till I noticed the distinct brightness in 

his eyes. A clear give-away that he's a 

technician to watch out for! Otherwise A. R. 

Murugadoss looked more like a fresher in 

college, not a director who was making debut 

with an Ajith starrer! The film was Dheena. A 

decade has gone by and today Murugadoss has 

scaled impressive heights in Hindi cinema with 

Ghajni, a grosser. In between there was 

Ramana whose social consciousness fascinated 

many, and the Tamil Ghajini!
Murugadoss is now set to take the cinema world 

by storm with 7aum Arivu, his much-hyped film 

with Suriya. Why did he plump for his Ghajini 

hero again? “The vibes,” he says. “Ever since 

Ghajini happened we've been in touch. And the 

role in 7am Arivu needs a strong hero of the 

calibre of Suriya.”

Generally, director-hero equations are hunky-

dory initially, but by the time a project is 

complete matters sour. Murugadoss' entry was 

with Ajith, after which he moved on to 

Vijayakanth -- he is going with Suriya for the 

second time consecutively. “During Dheena I 

was more in awe of Ajith. I directed him with 

deference and I still feel so about him. After the 

film we rarely met,” explains Murugadoss. “And 

as for the hero and director falling out, if the 

film is a hit, the skirmishes are forgotten. But 

when it bites the dust, the blame game begins,” 

he laughs.

The theme spells novelty. For the first 20 

minutes or so, 7am Arivu is a period film 

tracking the larger than life persona of 

Bodhidharma, who lived in the 6{+t}{+h} 

Century, after which the film shifts gear to the 

present. “My interest perked up when I learnt 

that Bodhidharma's antecedents can be traced 

to Tamil Nadu. He was a Pallava prince who had 

renounced life, travelled all the way to China, 

established Zen Buddhism, founded the martial 

art of Kung-fu and is till today deified in several 

parts of the world, except in India! The irony is 

embarrassing. Just like the Ramkrishna Mutt, 

you find a Bodhidharma Mutt even in the U.S.,” 

says Murugadoss.

People there are shocked to hear that Indians 

know little about Bodhidharma. “Just as our 

temples for Lord Shiva have niches on either 

side for Ganesha and Muruga, every Buddhist 

temple in China houses a shrine for 

Bodhidharma to the left of the sanctum 

sanctorum of Gautama Buddha.”
Called Da Mo (Master) in China and Ta Mo in 

Japan, he lived till the age of 150 and spent a 

whole nine-year period inside a cave facing a 

wall, meditating! “For 7aum Arivu I have used 

just a glass of water from a huge sea of intrigue. 

He is a master who deserves to be made known 

to our folks for the philosophy he stood for and 

the art form he created, particularly because he 

hailed from here!” Murugadoss' admiration for 

the Buddhist saint is palpable.

Striking gold

The project, kick-started a couple of years ago, 

involved nearly 10 months of extensive 

research, plot development and scripting. Yet he 

found time to turn producer! By zeroing in on 

director Saravanan for his first production, 

Engaeyum Eppodhum, Murugadoss has struck 

gold.

“Fox Star Studios was willing to join hands and 

promote new talents. I want to encourage fresh 

ideas, but sadly many of our youngsters seem to 

be caught in the warp of Paruththi Veeran,” he 

laughs.

The knot and narrative of 7am Arivu had 

Murugadoss slogging it out. “For all that, it was 

my assistants who went about with the 

spadework,” Murugadoss smiles. “The 6th 

Century segment is completely authentic. My 

imagination takes wing only in the 

contemporary part of the tale.”

The Shruti Haasan factor has also kindled 

curiosity about 7. “Yeah, we chose her because 

she looks both intelligent and beautiful – a blend 

I was looking for. She plays a scientist. And be it 

Ravi K. Chandran or Rajeevan, their 

contributions have been singular,” commends 

Murugadoss. “Also Peter Hein has done a lot of 

reference to make the stunts genuine. After all 

we are showcasing the movements of a master. 

So has Harris. He has used 6{+t}{+h} Century 

instruments for the period sequences.”

That the hype for 7am Arivu has already made 

many pull out of the Deepavali race should be a 

morale booster. “All the same, exam means 

tension. During the days of Ramana I was 

jogging on a local ground, now I run on a racing 

track amidst stiff competition,” he laughs.

by

A_S