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
