Chiyaan Vikram says, 'Thangalaan is 100 times better than Sarpatta Parambarai'

Tamil superstar Chiyaan Vikram is quite upbeat about his upcoming movie Thangalaan. At the teaser launch event for the movie, Vikram heaped praises on director Pa Ranjith for allowing him to push his artistic talents to new limits.

Vikram recalled that shooting for Thangalaan was physically demanding and messy as the actors were required to work on very tough terrains and conditions. "We didn't shoot this movie on sets. We shot it in actual locations in KGF (Kolar gold fields). The nights there were extremely cold and the days were extremely hot. And the locations were filled with scorpions and snakes," he recalled. 

He noted that Ranjith was a hard taskmaster as the shoots would go on from early morning to well into midnight. However, Vikram felt ambivalent about the challenges he faced while shooting for this movie. "Every day I longed for the day to get over. But, the next day, I felt renewed and excited to go back to the shoot. I never experienced this before," he noted. 

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"Every film is special for an actor. But, we can't say for sure that we will get to have such an experience in all movies," Vikram added. 

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Vikram said Thangalaan will shed light on one of the darkest chapters in our colonial history. However, he noted that it would not be overtly sentimental, but paint a compelling and realistic picture of people who suffered under British rule. "There will be sadness in every scene. But, it will not force you to cry. It shows the reality of that time. Even in such grave situations, they nurtured hope, found reasons to be happy and share love," Vikram said. 

Vikram also described Thangalaan as Ranjith's best directorial effort yet. "I have loved Ranjith's work since Madras. You all saw the quality of his work in Sarpatta Parambarai. But, I think, the way he has made this film is 100 times better than that. He keeps innovating his visual and narrative style, that's what I like about him. Ranjith is a fantastic director. He's an artist," he said. 

Besides Vikram, Thangalaan also stars Parvathy and Malavika Mohanan. It's due in cinemas on January 26.