Kochadaiyaan

Kochadaiyaan (Tamil: கோச்சடையான்) is an upcoming Tamil period film to be directed by Soundarya R. Ashwin and written by K. S. Ravikumar. The film will feature Rajinikanth alongside an ensemble cast, including R. Sarathkumar, Katrina Kaif, Sneha, Aadhi, Shobana, Nassar and Jackie Shroff. The film, which is expected to be shot with motion capture in 3D, will have cinematography handled by Rajiv Menon whilst background score and soundtrack will be composed by A. R. Rahman

Production

Development

Rajinikanth's next film, after his prior successful venture with S. Shankar's Enthiran (2010), was supposed to be Rana, a historical drama film to be directed by K. S. Ravikumar and dually-produced by Soundarya R. Ashwin's Ocher Picture Productions and Eros Entertainment. However, Rajinikanth became ill and was treated for dehydration and exhaustion at a hospital, resulting in postponement of Rana's filming.^[2] On 23 November 2011, Soundarya posted a message on her Twitter account, notifying followers to "look out for an official announcement very soon". The following day, she announced that her father's next film would be Kochadaiyaan and that she was "[grateful and] excited to be directing [her] father". A tentatively scheduled release period of August 2012 was also announced. The film was finalized to be a co-production of Eros Entertainment and Media One Global. Soundarya further stated that K. S. Ravikumar had worked with her father and herself on the script of the film. With regards to the film's title, Ravikumar claimed that it drew reference to an alternate name of Hindu deity Shiva, while also being partly inspired by the name of the Pandya Dynasty king Kochadaiyan Ranadhiran, and that the plot would be a "fictional account with small references to history".^[8] The director clarified that Kochadaiyaan was not related to the the same-titled history series being published by the Tamil magazine Kumudam.

Casting

For the female lead role, Anushka Shetty was initially approached, but sources confirmed later that she was not part of the film. It was then rumoured that Asin and Vidya Balan were being considered for the role, since producers preferred a Bollywood actress. Soundarya R. Ashwin approached Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif in January 2012, who was not able to give her dates and the team reapproached Balan. However, Kaif was finalized for the film by the month's end.

The film began to increase its casting profile after Prithviraj was reportedly signed in to play an important role in the film. Sneha was reported to be finalized for a supporting role, with the actress confirming her presence in the film in December 2011. Aadhi, who became recognized for his performances in Mirugam (2007) and Eeram (2009), was recruited for a role in the film, after he felt that the opportunity was "a realization of a dream that he has had since childhood". Furthermore, Shobana and Mohan Babu's daughter Lakshmi Manchu were also expected to join the film, with Soundarya later confirming the addition of the former to the cast saying that Shobana was the "only choice for the role" as the character was written keeping her in mind. R. Sarathkumar, too, was signed on for an important role in the film. Veteran actor Nassar was recruited in the film as well for a supporting role. Soundarya disclaimed the rumour that Aishwarya Rai was chosen to do a guest appearance in the film. Jackie Shroff, who was last seen in Tamil cinema playing a crucial role in the critically acclaimed Aaranya Kaandam (2011), was also roped in.

Peter Hein was chosen as the film's action choreographer, while A. R. Rahman agreed to compose the film's background score and soundtrack. Rajiv Menon was recruited as the film's cinematographer. Soundarya made an open invite via Twitter to art professionals to send their demo and work as she was looking for "special art department" for the film.

Filming

The film is expected to be the first Indian 3D film shot with the kind of performance capturing technology used in films such as Avatar (2009) and The Adventures of Tintin (2011). K. S. Ravikumar, story writer of the film, announced that the filming will commence on 15 January 2012 and finish before March 2012. The first schedule of indoor shooting will start with Rajinikanth's style and action being filmed for motion capturing. The film was launched with a formal puja on 19 January 2012 at the actor's favourite Ganesha temple located inside AVM Studios in Vadapalani, Chennai.The first look poster of the film was published in newspapers on 05 February 2012.