There is no politics in Darbar. It is a cop story and Rajinikanth appears as Mumbai Police Commissioner, says filmmaker A R Murugadoss.
Slated for release this Pongal, Darbar is an action-packed commercial entertainer, bankrolled by Lyca Productions. Nayanthara, Sunil Shetty, Yogi Babu, Sriman, Nivetha Thomas among others form part of the cast. Music is by Anirudh and cinematography is by Santosh Sivan.
Speaking to News Today, Murugadoss, says, ”I had detailed discussion for Rajinikanth and we both agreed to make a sequel to Chandramukhi initially. But due to various reasons, we had to do a cop story. The movie has come good and the audience will enjoy ‘Rajinisms’ in Darbar”.
Excerpts from his interview
Q: How was it to work with Rajinikanth?
A: The huge comfort working with big stars is that once they are convinced of the story and screenplay, they never interfere in director’s work. They do what the filmmaker wants them on screen. Rajinikanth is no different. My comfort level was high working with him. He is a simple and humble man. Thousands will wait outside the caravan to click pictures with him. He will politely oblige to all of them.
Q: Will there be political punches in Darbar?
A: It is a not a political drama. Darbar is a action-packed entertainer. It speaks about violence against women. When Ulagam Suttrum Valiban was released, MGR was in politics, but the movie had no political dialogues.
Q: How did you arrive at that look for Rajinikanth?
A: Rajinikanth is always young at heart. He is active and bubbles with enthusiasm. He sports a beard all through the film and there is a significance to it. It is not difficult to show him as a person in his fifties. His physique, energy and style of talking will give you that impression. Santosh Sivan’s cinematography also helped us a lot. Rajini adapted quite easily.
Q: Why did you drop the plan to do Chandramukhi 2?
A: We both agreed to make a sequel to Chandramukhi initially. But it had to be dropped for various reasons. One it was a Sivaji Productions film and second it was directed by P Vasu. But now Darbar is bankrolled by Lyca Productions and I am directing it. We thought it would take huge efforts to convince all parties and hence dropped the idea. But I loved the character of Vettaiyan immensely.
Q: On Nayanthara as heroine?
A: She plays an architect in the film. Her character has a major say in the story.