I(Ai)

[MysteRy]

I(Ai) Movie Preview

Cast:    Vikram, Amy Jakson
Direction:    Shankar
Production:    Venu Ravichandran
Music:    A. R. Rahman

Ever since Shankar stepped into Kollywood with ‘Gentleman’, he keeps raising the bar in his every attempt and with ‘I’ it seems that he is all set to create a huge space between him and the rest of the others in terms of grandeur and making use of new age technology.

Casting:

Vikram, Amy Jackson, & Upen Patel to round off the lead roles while Santhanam, Ramkumar Ganesan, and Ojas M Rajani to fill the supporting cast. So far, with the teasers and the making of the film, one can see that Vikram is doing four roles, a Mr. Madras aspirant with Arnold’s hairstyle, a hunchback, a beast, and a ravishing model, who tours along with Amy Jackson to China.

Upen Patel is touted to be an intelligent Villain, who makes use of Vikram for his experiment and Amy Jackson is playing the role of a gorgeous model.

Music:

Shankar’s regular collaborator, A.R. Rahman has composed the music and the songs got released on Sep 15th to wonderful reviews and the songs are still topping the charts. Rahman had revealed that he scored the music back in 2012 and he is happy that the tunes are still fresh enough to attract the listeners. Read our exclusive music review here and audio launch event coverage here
Technical crew:

Shankar had made use of the best technology and brilliant people from every corner to paint his biggest dream. WETA workshop has done his part in giving the perfect look for Vikram’s hunchback and Beast look while Martial arts choreographer Yuen Woo-Ping has been roped in to design jaw dropping stunts. Catch the making video of ‘I’ to get an idea about what’s in store.
Pre release buzz:

The movie was supposed to release for this Diwali, but the post production works have delayed the release. There were too many reports about the movie’s release on Nov 14th and Christmas, but the production house has put an end stating that the movie will be out for Pongal, 2015. Up next Shankar & his team will be taking their movie for evaluation to CBFC and once it is done, then we will be having a clear cut picture of the release.

Production:

Though there are some sources claim that the production house has spent more than 150 crores, Shankar has dismissed that by mentioning, “For some reason, people like to exaggerate how much I spend on a film. Trust me when I tell you that the budget of I is less than Rs. 100 crore. I try hard to salvage every rupee. When I’m on the spot, I keep my eyes open for equipment we can return and save money. Similarly, people also exaggerate how long I take to make a film. ‘I’ was planned for release last Diwali. Due to some delays from the production side, we had to stall it a bit. For months, I was sitting idle.”

Expectation:

Shankar’s ‘I’ is not one of the most anticipated movies of next year, it is actually going to be the biggest of all the movies and expected to break all the records in the K-town.

[MysteRy]

I Music Review

Cast:    Vikram, Amy Jakson
Direction:    Shankar
Production:    Venu Ravichandran
Music:    A. R. Rahman

Easily the most electrifying combo of Indian cinema, Shankar – Rahman holds a 100% winning record so far, and a simple announcement from this pair is enough to brew the excitement for all the fans across the world. ‘Let’s see whether they have lived up to their reputation. Here’s our detailed analysis of the much anticipated album of the year ‘I’.

1. Mersalaayitten
Singer(s): Anirudh Ravichander Neeti Mohan
Lyrics : Kabilan

Welcome to the magical world of fusion, and this time it is the word fusion is not describing the music front. Kabilan’s vintage Chennai (Madrash’ish) lyrics meets the James Bondes’que prelude and goes on to keep serving the surprise elements one by one. The song is an out & out Anirudh’s show as he projects the joy of a guy who fell in love with a gorgeous girl & Neeti Mohan chips in by rendering the title word in a porsche way. The violin part in the first interlude which starts in 2.47 and travels for a good 40 seconds to give the baton to Neeti Mohan is a master stroke. Like, Glenn Maxwell, Rahman delivers the first huge six in the opening song itself.

2. Ennodu Nee Irundhaal
Singer(s): Sid Sriram, Sunitha Sarathy
Lyrics : Kabilan

Sid Sriram, who sung the path breaking ‘Adiye’ in ‘Kadal’ has come back to sweep off everyone with his dynamic rendering. The Piano preludes paves way for Sid to take off slowly, and Rahman keeps playing with his drums, chimes, and bells softly around Sriram’s sensational vocals for a good 4 minutes. The soft drum beats meets the flutes in the midway to emote the feelings of a fluctuating heart and let Sunitha to render her part. Sid signs off with an unimaginable high pitch portion in the last part only to make us press the repeat button to ensure what we heard is real!

3. Ladio
Singer(s): Nikita Gandhi
Lyrics : Karky

Madhan Karky – The lyric engineer strikes once again with his out of box thinking to take the classic Tamil to the generation Y kids by penning them to a club number. Rahman dons the role of a DJ here, and the way he raises the tempo of the track after slowing down is sure to become a new strategy with all the DJ’s. This one could well be the intro song for, Amy Jackson and it will be interesting to see how Shankar will present this one; on screen.

4. Pookkalae Sattru Oyivedungal
Singer(s): Haricharan, Shreya Ghoshal
Lyrics : Karky

Stop! Take a breath, and proceed; because this one will take your breathe away. Haricharan is the new go to man for Rahman in the recent times, and he keeps raising the bar in every outing. With regards to Shreya Ghoshal, we have to dig deep the dictionary to come up with some new adjectives to praise her singing. Rahman does not experiment too much with this track and he seems to have let the lead singers improvise to make the song sound beautiful. Madhan Karky’s lyrics deserve a special mention once again for exhibiting what he can do with a single letter ‘I’ to provide a bewitching experience. Here we quote a few mesmerizing verses from the song..

Hey ‘I’ endraal adhu azhagu endraal.. andha ‘I’ galin ‘I’ aval dhaana
Hey ‘I’ endraal adhu kadavul endraal.. andha kadavulin thugal aval dhaana

5. Aila Aila
Singer(s): Aditya Rao : Natalie Di Luccio
Lyrics : Karky

Rahman got this adroitness in his routine to keep introducing a brand new style of compositions often, and here comes one more to that list. The Canadian singer, Natalie Di Luccio renders her portions in Opera style while Aditya Rao plays within his strength to make his mark. One cannot categorize the song to a particular style as it keeps shuttling between two different universe. A stylish mystery number will top the charts very soon.

6. Ennodu Nee Irundhaal (Reprise)
Singer(s): Chinmayi, Sid Sriram
Lyrics: Kabilan

Contrary to the earlier version, Rahman gives a different tone to the song by introducing guitars to this one and architects a poisonous shell with his sound arrangements. Chinmayi takes  complete control of the song from the very moment she starts to croon the verses, and Sid Sriram accompanies her in the later part of the song to produce a perfect duet.

7. Mersalaayitten (Remix)
Singer(s): Anirudh Ravichander, Neeti Mohan
Lyrics : Kabilan

Probably for the first time in his career, Rahman is composing a Remix of his own song, and the result is mightily impressive. This one is a bit shortened compared to the original one, but, Anirudh & Neethi displays the minute difference to make this more foot tappable and a more repeatable material. Neeti Mohan’s first & final 20 seconds of the track is addictive and ensures another home run for, Rahman.

[MysteRy]

'I' hits 9 million , trailer to be released soon

Vikram’s Shankar directed I has clocked in 9 million views in You Tube and it is a record for any South Indian film. It is the second most watched Indian movie teaser. Recently, the makers have announced that the trailer of the film will be released soon.

The official handle of Aascar Films who are producing the film tweeted “The most awaited theatrical trailer of the year, I, is getting ready to hit your screens. Coming soon via our official YouTube channel - Aascars TV. Subscribe NOW!”.
 
I has ensemble of star cast including Amy Jackson, Santhanam, Upen Patel, Ram Kumar and many. Aascar Films have already announced that the film will hit the screens for Pongal 2015.

[MysteRy]

I trailer censored! release on January 9?

The makers of I are ready with a two minutes trailer of the film and the same has been censored with U/A certificate.

The official twitter handle of Aascar Films has posted that the trailer will be soon out in their You Tube Channel and urged their followers to subscribe it.

Sources indicate that the trailer of I will be out anytime by this week and an official confirmation will be made soon. Directed by Shankar, I has Vikram and Amy Jackson playing the lead roles. Sources also say that the makers are planning for a simultaneous release in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi languages on January 9.

We also hear that the film will be censored by this week, most likely on December 18.

[MysteRy]

‘I’ is ready to get certified

There was a strong buzz yesterday that the trailer of ‘my’ could release any time, but at the end of the day the team ‘I’ had disappointed millions of fans by not releasing it and till now there is no update on when it would release as well. The recent update on the ‘I’ trailer is that it will be shown along with Aamir Khan starrer ‘PK’ in the theatres, so a YouTube release prior Friday is highly doubtful.

Despite of all the disappointments, here we get you some delicious information about ‘I’. The final mixing for the movie is done and the makers are taking the movie to CBFC to get it certified in a day or two. Stay tuned to this tab for more updates on Censor certification and trailer release.

[MysteRy]

It is Pongal for sure: Team ‘I’ confirms release

After playing hide and seek with the trailer release, the team ‘I’ has released a brand new HD poster for the movie with the tag – Pongal Release on it. There were so much of confusion whether ‘I’ would take part in the Pongal release because of its never ending post production works, but the inside reports say that the movie is ready and it will go for Censor certification in a day or two. A grand Pongal treat is getting ready for the fans of Vikram and Shankar.

[MysteRy]

I censored with UA, off to revising committee?

The censor process of Vikram’s Shankar directed I has happened yesterday and according to the reports the censors in Chennai have given a U/A certificate to the film.

As only ‘U’ certified films are eligible for tax exemption given by Tamil Nadu government, the makers are contemplating to approach the revising committee.

Once the censor process gets completed, the team will kick start the promotions by visiting various territories across the country.

Sources say that Aascar Ravichandran is planning to promote the movie in North India and Andhra Pradesh where separate audio launches are being planned.

[MysteRy]

Shankar's I trailer is a monstrous hit!

Shankar’s I trailer is a monstrous hit !

The two minutes trailer of Shankar’s magnum opus ‘I ‘ was out on Dec 18 night and within nine hours it has clocked in nearly half a million view in You Tube.

It has to be noted that the teaser of’ I’ has registered more than 9 million views on You Tube. The trailer starts with a poetic romantic conversation between Amy Jackson and Vikram who are planning to settle in an exotic foreign locations, what follows the dreamy shot is an array of jaw dropping action sequences, majestic background score by AR Rahman and scintillating cinematography by PC Sreeram.

Vikram’s various get-ups as body-builder, model and hunch-back character in the trailer has certainly created a curiosity. Also the trailer has been cut in such a way that they have mentioned various meanings for the title “I” by stating “I is love”, “I is pain”, “I is revenge” and ends in style with “I will see you on Pongal” indicating the release date.

With I’s teaser, Shankar had our curiosity but now he is having our attention. The trailer is having a dialogue with Amy aguishly asking “Enna Kola Poriya?” (Are you going to kill me) and the hunchback Vikram says “Athukum mela”(Much more than that)…

To people who are asking whether the trailer of I is good, we would like to say “No… it’s much more than that”…

[MysteRy]

‘I’ censor details and run time

The trailer of ‘I’ got released last night at 10 P.M and within 19 hours the 2 minute video garnered more than a million visitors. CBFC has awarded a U/A certificate for the trailer and based on that a few reports claim that the feature film also got the same. The movie’s run time is said to be 160 mins. In TN, getting a ‘U’ certificate is very important, since the ‘U’ certificate can get the tax exemption.

Insiders say that the makers of ‘I’ has decided to take the movie to the review committee to get the U certificate and decided to kick start the promotions from the last week of this month. The movie is scheduled to release for Pongal, 2015.

[MysteRy]

‘I’ trailer, shoe lace trick simplified

One of the WOW factors in ‘I’ trailer was Vikram’s automatic shoe lace trick in a fighting scene, and many had thought it would have done using VFX. But, early this morning director Shankar posted that it was just a trick and the fans will get to know while watching the movie on his personal handle as an answer to one of the question raised by his fan.

VFX for shoe lace!! Only @shankarshanmugh can think of all this!!
@abhilashsesh that is not a vfx

shot..it was taken live.. the trick is secret

[MysteRy]

Shankar's I promotion in full throttle, key areas are sold out

Vikram starrer Shankar’s I trailer has clocked in 3 million views in three days and the response is so humongous, that the producer Aascar Ravichandran is on cloud nine.

The latest information from the camp is that the makers have announced the Telugu audio launch of the film on December 30. The producers are also launching the trailer of the Hindi version today and director Shankar himself has confirmed it.

Mean time, the territory wise distribution in Tamil Nadu has been kick started and the Chennai-Chengalpatu distribution has been snapped by AGS Entertainments. The other area distributions are also getting sold as the film has recently completed the censor process and Pongal release is affirmative.

Mean time, the territory wise distribution in Andhra is also too good that some areas have fetched price which is more than Top Telugu starrers.

[MysteRy]

‘I’ supersedes ‘Kaththi’ and ‘Lingaa’

The Coimbatore market plays a vital role in measuring the success of a movie and the distributors have been pumping heavy money to acquire the rights of biggies. ‘Kaththi’ and ‘Lingaa’ were sold for 8.5 crores and 13 croores respectively and here we get to know that Vikram – Amy Jackson starrer ‘I’ has been sold for 14 crores.

The countdown for ‘my’ has begun officially with the release of trailer and an unconfirmed report say that the movie will be out for January 9th. We will be getting a clarification regarding the release dates once the makers starts to negotiate the foreign deals. Stay tuned!

[MysteRy]

Shankar lauds Vikram’s dedication for ‘I’ dubbing

During the ‘Kappal’ audio launch, Shankar had some great words to share about Vikram’s dedication and he did reveal that, Chiyaan has taken special effort to dub in Telugu, Hindi, and Tamil by holding his throat to get the right diction for the ‘Hunchback’ (Koonan) character.

A few moments ago, the Hindi version of ‘I’ trailer got released and one notice Vikram’s uniqueness in the dialogue delivery. It has to be wait and seen how the Hindi trailer performs compared to Tamil, and if ‘I’ hits the right notes with the Hindi audience, it will open new avenues for Tamil films in the Northern parts of our country.

[MysteRy]

I to clash with 'Yennai Arindhaal' on Pongal day?

If sources in the industry are to be believed the release date of I might be postponed from January 9 to January 14.

The reason cited by the source is “Aascar Ravichandran feels that though people in the city will be excited to see the film on January 9, people in B and C centers will always prefer films which are newly releasing for Pongal and not the one week old film”.

Also, many theater owners are asking Aascar Ravichandran to leave few screens for the other Pongal releases which he doesn’t want to lose after one week. If I released on January 14, then there will be just one day gap for Yennai Arindhaal and the battle will be really close.

Mean time, the entire crew of I will be soon leaving to Hyderabad for the promotion of Telugu version while the first week of January is allotted for Hindi promotions.

[MysteRy]

Aascar Ravichandran to release I overseas

The release date of Shankar’s I has been postponed from January 9 to 14 and today the press statement from Aascar Films has confirmed it.

According to the latest press release issued by Aascar Films, the worldwide release of Tamil, Telugu and Hindi versions of I will be through their own banner.

The press statement also confirmed that the film will be released for Pongal which is on January 14 and hence the film will not be released on January 9 as mentioned earlier.

 I has Vikram, Amy Jackson, Upen Patel, Ram Kumar, Santhanam and many to its star cast.