Uttama Villain

Uttama Villain (English: Virtuous Villain) is an upcoming Tamil comedy-drama film directed by Ramesh Aravind and produced by N. Lingusamy in association with Kamal Haasan. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Kamal Hassan, Jayaram, Andrea Jeremiah, Pooja Kumar, Nassar, Parvathi, Parvathy Nair and Urvashi. Directors K. Viswanath and K. Balachander plays cameo roles in the film. M. Ghibran composes the soundtrack album and background score for the film.

Production

Development

In early 2013, director-producer N. Lingusamy made an official statement confirming that Kamal Haasan had agreed to direct and feature in a film to be produced by the production house, Thirrupathi Brothers.^[3] The actor had handed Lingusamy three scripts and the pair chose the most commercially viable option, with early working title of the film being Bitter Chocolate. The project was eventually titled in June 2013 as Uttama Villain, with Kamal Haasan himself writing the script for the film,^[4] while Crazy Mohan was involved in early discussions for the film's dialogues. Yuvan Shankar Raja was signed on to compose the film's music,^[5] while reports also incorrectly suggested that Rajesh was added to the scripting team for the film.^[6] In July 2013, Ramesh Aravind took over the task of directing the film from Kamal Haasan.^[7] It was later announced that M. Ghibran, who had worked with Kamal Haasan in Vishwaroopam II, would compose music for the film instead of Yuvan Shankar Raja.^[8] Shamdat Sainudeen and Vijay Shankar were also subsequently announced as cinematographer and editor of the project, respectively,^[9] while Gautami Tadimalla was selected to handle the costume designing for the film.^[10] According to Ramesh Aravind, Kamal Haasan wrote the majority of the dialogues and that Crazy Mohan's inputs and suggestions were recorded.^[11]

Casting

Kajal Aggarwal was initially reported to have signed on to play the lead female role though her manager later confirmed that she was not approached and that her dates were already allotted for other projects.^[12] Asin and Deepika Padukone were also reported by the media to be cast in the lead female role, though neither reports materialised.^[13][14]The team later held discussions with actresses Divya Spandana and Lekha Washington for roles in the film, though neither were signed.^[15] A month prior to shoot, three female lead characters were touted to appear in the film. Kajal Aggarwal, Tamannaah and Trisha Krishnan were actively considered for the three roles.^[16] The three roles finally went toPooja Kumar, Andrea Jeremiah and Parvathi.^[17] Pooja played the role of a non-Tamil-speaking modern-day actress, who was offered a character that spoke old, archaic and chaste Tamil. Pooja also performed 3 song sequences in the film, unlike in Vishwaroopam (2013), where she had no song sequences.^[18] Kamal Haasan's daughter Shruti Haasan was considered for the role of his on screen daughter in the film but her unavailability meant that the team chose to pick a new actress instead.^[19] Another actressParvathy Nair was added to the cast after impressing the team in an audition and was select to be paired opposite Ashwin, a debutant who plays Kamal Haasan's son in the film.^[20] Actors Sarath Kumar and Vivek were reported to have been added to the preliminary cast, but the actors later noted the news as untrue.^[21][22] Santhanam was also said to be involved in the film, but his inclusion remained unconfirmed.^[23] In January 2014, noted director K. Balachander was selected to play a pivotal role in the film and sported a beard for his character.^[24] Producer Lingusamy himself was reported to be playing a role in the venture, after being seen sporting a new look during the making of his directorial project Anjaan (2014).^[25] Director K. Viswanath also joined the film's cast as did Jayaram, and the pair began filming scenes in March 2014.^[26] Anant Mahadevan, who featured in Vishwaroopam (2013), was given the role of the manager of Kamal Haasan's character in the film. More details about the film were shown in mid-March with a detailed cast and character list released to the media.^[27] In May 2014, actor Nasser was roped in to play a supporting role.^[28] In July 2014, director Chithra Lakshmanan joined the team to play a small role in the film.^[29] Actress Abhirami was selected to dub for Pooja Kumar in the film.^[30] Ramesh Aravind himself was to make a cameo appearance in the film, but the director did not reveal much about it and kept his decision under wraps.^[31]

Filming

In mid February 2014, the team carried out make up tests involving Kamal Haasan in Bangalore with a photo shoot being held with the actor.^[32] Principal photography began on 3 March 2014.^[33] The team then shot for two weeks in Bangalore, before moving on to film sequences in Chennai with Gouthami joining the team as a costume designer.^[34] In early April, parts of the film were shot in Madhya Pradesh before the team returned to Bangalore to film scenes involving Parvathy Nair and Ashwin.^[35] Further scenes involving Kamal Haasan in the role of a star actor were filmed at a shopping mall in Bangalore, with several hundred onlookers used as extras. Posters from a fictional film in the plot,Veera Vilaiyaatu, were put up around the mall by the film's art direction team.^[36] After initially planning a trip to Australia to film the songs from the soundtrack, the team later opted to fly to Turkey instead. Many scenes in the film,^[37] including a song featuring Kamal Haasan and Pooja Kumar was consequently shot in Istanbul. The cast performed night rehearsals to get their expressions and dialogues right.^[38][39] The portions featuring Kamal Haasan as an aging superstar were completed with the shoot of the song.^[40]The 21st century portions were completed by mid May 2014.^[41] In between, Kamal Haasan took a break from the shoot to attend the 2014 Cannes Film Festival and to inaugurate the Indian Pavilion there.^[42] Another schedule was started on 21 May 2014 in Madhya Pradesh and then Chennai, with the team filming scenes enacting happenings in the 8th century.^[43][44] In early June 2014, Andrea had completed her portions in the film.^[45] Kamal Haasan sustained a small muscle pull during the film's shooting and was advised a day's rest.^[46] Majority of the film's portions were shot by the end of July, with only patchwork and dubbing left.^[37] On 9 August 2014, Ramesh Aravind confirmed on hisTwitter account that the shooting of the film had been completed with a song sequence which would feature in the 8th century segment of the film.^[47][48]

Allegations of plagiarism

There was speculation that the first look of the film was inspired by a photograph taken by French photographer Eric Lafforgue, but Kamal Hassan rubbished the allegations by saying, "Theyyam is more than a 1000 year old art. The make-up was done by a good artist who is probably a third-generation practitioner of this art. My film has a Theyyam dance fusion with Tamil Nadu's Kooththu tradition". Admitting that the lighting might have had a few similarities to the photograph of the French Photographer, he said that comparing the photo with his first look poster was like saying two lovers leaning on one another's chest looking in the same direction is a copy of the 'Ek Duje Ke Liye' poster. He also stated that the poster did not depict a mask, but make-up painted on his face and that it took 4 hours to paint it.^[49]

Release

The first look poster and logo of the film were released on 1 March 2014, depicting a Theyyam art form sketched on Kamal Haasan's face.^[62]

Kamal said that the movie would have some very funny moments, but won't be a full-fledged comedy, further confirming that the film would release before Vishwaroopam 2, another film which featured him in the lead role.^[63][64] The film was initially touted to be released in October 2014,^[65] but Ramesh Aravind clarified that the film involved a lot ofVFX work to be done and that it would be completed in 10 weeks.^[66] Eros International was confirmed to co-distribute the film worldwide.^[67] The satellite rights of the film were sold to Zee Thamizh. Before the film's release, Vishva Hindu Parishad’s (VHP) Tamil Nadu wing called for its ban, as they alleged that the lyrics of a song in the film had belittled a conversation between Prahalad and Hiranyakashipu, which affect the religious sentiments of Hindu people.^[68]