paa- mudi mudi song - Page 3

ON A DIFFERENT NOTE

IN AN EXCLUSIVE TO CT, AD MAN-TURNEDFILMMAKER BALKI OPENS UP ON PAA

SREEDHAR PILLAI Times News Network


Two years after his critically acclaimed multiplex-hit Cheeni Kum created waves, R Balakrishnan, the advertising wizard popularly known as Balki, is back with his new film Paa. His core team, comprising Amitabh Bachchan, maestro Ilayaraja and cameraman PC Sreeram, is once again behind this path-breaking film that has been made in the commercial format. Last week, Balki was in Chennai for the re-recording of his film at Ilayarajas studio in Prasad Lab. The film is getting ready for a worldwide release on December 4. Excerpts from the interview:

There is a big buzz around Paa. Whats it about

Paa is the touching story a 13-year-old boy diagnosed with progeria, a disease, the symptoms of which include ageing at an early age, and his relationship with his father. Amitabh Bachchan plays the young boy while Abhishek plays his father, Vidya Balan is the mother and Paresh Rawal plays the role of the grand father.

Your earlier film Cheeni Kum was a delight. As a leading ad filmmaker , how did you switch to feature film making successfully

As far as advertising is concerned, the idea has to be for the moment while in film making its for a longer duration and characterisation has to be strong. For me, the story idea of Paa came when one day, Abhishek, during the shoot of an ad film of mine, came to see his dad. I got this idea of featuring both the father and son in the same film that is about role-reversal where a father is a child in a mans body and the son is a man in a childs body. Later, I consulted a friend, a doctor , who explained to me that this was possible in the case of progeria, and I worked on it.

What is it about maestro Ilayaraja that has made you sign him up as your music director again

I cant think of anybody else composing music for my films. I have grown up listening to Raja sirs music which is universal and melodious.

But Bollywood has not supported his music...

I know some of the music directors there who have rehashed his tunes and churned out chartbusters. He does not need the crutches of technology to sound nice as his melodies are powerful. I will have him as my music director as long as he is willing to compose.

Tell us about your working style with Ilayaraja

I first toss around the idea for my films to Raja sir and PC Sreeram. They are my ears and eyes and from the script stage itself, they are involved. Raja sir has this unique capability of knowing if a Hindi word is suitable by just hearing it.

Like in Cheeni Kum, are you going to use some of his popular Tamil numbers in Paa

Yes. There are six songs in Paa, out of which four are fresh tunes composed by Raja sir to the lyrics of Swanand Kirkire. The others are a Tamil song Putham Puthu Kaalai and a song from his earlier film Olangal in Malayalam. The music of Paa is going to be one of its highlights. The audio of the film will be released on November 14, Childrens Day a fitting tribute as the film is about a child within a man and a man within a child.