Though Vijay was raided by the Income Tax department in the past too, the action was tough this time. Even as his multiple properties were searched, the actor was brought to Chennai from the sets of ‘Master’ in Neyveli and was questioned by officials for hours. This was unprecedented for any actor in these parts.
The audio launches of Vijay films used to be grand affairs in the recent past, with the participation of his fans in large numbers. But, the music release event of ‘Master’ ended up as a simple closed-door affair due to coronavirus and a few unwanted happenings earlier.And Vijay himself regretted for not inviting his fans. Speaking at the audio launch, Vijay Sethupathi, who is said to be playing the antagonist in ‘Master’, invited controversy by speaking something against religion.
Also, just a few days before the function, Income Tax officials visited his residence again. Now, the film’s release, which was scheduled for April 9, is most likely to be delayed, as the industry has come to a standstill due to covid-19.
With one problem or the other posing a challenge to the actor, who is fondly called as ‘Thalapathy’ by fans, a few industry veterans opine that this might be due to the first look poster of ‘Master’, which, they feel, is jinxed.
“First look posters should be power-packed and energising. But, the first look poster of ‘Master’ looked blurred and Vijay looked perplexed, as if he is in some hangover or in the middle of a problem. This might be the reason behind the actor’s recent troubles,” says a senior journalist.
He adds: “Cinema industry is full of sentiments. In the past too, many such things happened. So, those in the field would always be careful in each and everything. It looks like ‘Master’ team overlooked this factor.”
A Kollywood tracker says, “Veteran director K Shankar wanted to title ‘Paadha Kanikkai’ as ‘Veedu Varai Uravu’, inspired by a popular song in that movie. But people like Sivaji Ganesan advised him not to do so, since it was a sad song. So he titled the film ‘Paadha Kanikkai’ and it went on to become a huge hit.”
He says the downfall of legendary singer T M Soundararajan started after he sang ‘Naan oru rasiyilla raja…’ in T Rajendhar’s ‘Oru Thalai Raagam’. Narrating another trivia, he says, “During the making of ‘Kaali’, many advised its makers to change the title since it was too powerful.
But they went ahead with it since they thought it was apt for Rajini’s image and his character in the film. A fire mishap happened during the making of the movie and it was not a huge success in the box-office too.”
He also says that the title of MGR’s classic ‘Thirudathey’ was initially ‘Nalladhukku Kaalam Illai’. “But it was changed as ‘Thirudathey’ due to luck factor and the positive image of the matinee idol and it went on to become a blockbuster,” he adds.
According to a distributor, “cinema is a business which is not just based on planning and hardwork, but also on luck. Huge money is involved and even a small thing would result in big failure. So, each and every aspect should be carefully taken care of.”
Directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, ‘Master’ has VIjay Sethupathi, Malavika Mohanan, Andrea Jeremiah, Arjun Das, Shanthanu Bhagyaraj, Gowri G Kishan and others in key roles. The film has musical score by Anirudh Ravichander.
Amid the controversies and hurdles, we at Mykollywood.com wish ‘Master’ team to successfully overcome all of them and make the movie a mega hit.
