The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Riot of rehearsals ... before the big day

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Feb 04, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Riot of rehearsals ... before the big day

Susan Muthalaly

Netru Indru Naalai all set to hypnotise Chennai residents on February 5

JUMP START: Actors Vineeth, Reema Sen and Shaam at a rehearsal with choreographer Kala for musical Netru Indru Naalai. — Photo: M. Vedhan

CHENNAI: When Star Vijay's Netru Indru Naalai is `naalai marunal,' it is easy to lose your head in the excitement.

Yet, on Friday afternoon, director Vasant is calm, if a bit bleary-eyed. As he stands amidst the frenetic activity onstage at Jeppiar Engineering College, he declares, "Everything is excellent."

He's been at the venue for 72 hours straight, but isn't complaining. "You know who's the best artist to work with?" Just as your ears perk up for a politically incorrect inside scoop, he says, "Mani Ratnam."

Mani Ratnam is the force behind this musical fundraiser for The Banyan, a home for mentally ill, destitute women. Although he's nowhere to be seen, his presence is felt as he does the rounds on everybody's cell phones. With Sabu Cyril designing the 24 props, Rajiv Menon taking care of the lighting, and invaluable contributions from actors Revathy and Rohini, expectations are high. And the hype has skyrocketed, thanks to the 25 stars from the film industry who will be participating.

Vandana from The Banyan says that more than the stars it is the theme of the show that is important. Mani Ratnam has conceptualised a musical that captures different eras of Tamil cinema — from black-and-white to current cinema. So you have Ramesh Aravind tripping along to an MGR number and Shaam bouncing in time to Rampwalk Remo.

Kala Master, the choreographer for the show, says that the show will depict the same situations and costumes as the original songs but she has improvised on the steps. "Each song will have one defining step from the original, but everything else is by me," she says.

The rehearsals

The rehearsals are a riot. There's Bhanu Priya, doing a graceful Bharatanatyam mudra while trying to avoid tripping on her tiny daughter, who is clinging onto her sari.

In one corner, Reema Sen is learning the steps for Thillana Thillana ... , while Shaam excitedly explains his Kamal Haasan number, Elamai Itho Itho ... "I will be dressed like he was in the movie and make the same entrance."

Photographer Venket Ram has been documenting the event for a week now, and his photos will be made into a coffee table book. Vandana says the idea is to publicise the show as they plan to take it on the road in the coming year.

"We already have intellectual property rights on the sets and the act. We plan to standardise the production and take it abroad. We've had offers from Dubai, Singapore, the U.K. and the U.S."

A.R. Rahman has composed a Banyan theme song. Some of the other stars who will participate are Madhavan, Shilpa Shetty and Kamal Haasan.

The Banyan has coordinated with Madras Round Table 1 to distribute the tickets for the show.

The show begins at 6.30 p.m. on February 5 and will be aired on Star Vijay at a later date.

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