The trailer of Sarathkumar’s magnum opus 1977 was released yesterday at a grand event in Chennaib by producer R.B. Choudhry and received by director K.S. Ravikumar and Film Chamber President KRG.1977 stars Sarathkumar, Namitha and newcomer Farzhana in the lead roles. Sarath dons the dual roles of father and son and appears in 6 different getups in the film. Yesteryear actor Jayasudha, who had decided to quit films, agreed to act in this film after hearing the story. She plays the elder Sarathkumar’s wife. Vivek provides comic relief and is paired with Chinese actress Coral Vow.
Namitha plays a lawyer; Farzhana plays a journalist; Vijaykumar appears in a crucial role. Films with the combination of Sarathkumar and Vijaykumar have always turned out to be superhits and Sarathkumar expressed the hope that this film too, would be added in that list.
The film is directed by debutant Dinesh Kumar, a popular ad film maker. It is said to be based on an incident that happened in 1977. The cinematographer is Bubathy, a big name in Telugu film industry, having done more than 20 big budget films there. The lensman has shot the film entirely in super 35 mm, the latest in cinematography.
The big budget film was shot for 60 days in Malaysia. The climax was shot on the 50th floor of a building near the Twin towers with multiple cameras. Over 1000 fisherman in 200 boats were involved in Sarathkumar’s introduction scene, which was shot near Chalakkudi. Similarly, art director G.K. has created an entire village at Kudhiraimozhi in Ramanathapuram district (at a cost of Rs. 40 lakhs) where crucial scenes in the film were shot for 18 days.
So impressed was Sarathkumar after hearing the script that he decided to produce the film at a whopping cost of 15 crores. The unit is planning to dub the film in Chinese and Malay, as many artistes from Malaysia have been involved in this film. Speaking during the function, Sarathkumar clarified that there was no politics in the film and it is a clean action entertainer.
Many film personalities like Mumtaj, Srikanth, Lakshmi Rai, Dhanush, Prashanth, Jeevan, Sandhya, Parthiban, Manorama, Vijaykumar, Abbas, K.R., Namitha, Vindhya and her husband Gopi, Farzhana and Raadika Sarathkumar attended the trailer launch. The music for the film is by Vidyasagar and will be released next month. The film is planned for a June release.
