The 2001 movie, Aalavandhan, directed by Kamal Haasan and produced under the banner Kalaipuli S. Thanu, is a subject matter among movie buffs. It seems interesting to discuss a few trivia about this unusual film.
Table of Contents
1.Origin Story
Its storyline is founded on the 1984 novel Thayam, written by Kamal Haasan, revolving around the trauma of childhood abuse on a pair of twin brothers.
2.Director’s Shift
Kamal Haasan had originally thought to make this movie back in the 1980s along with K. Balachander. Nonetheless, it later on got Suresh Krishna, who was behind the success of the movie Sathya in 2001, as its director.
3.Musical Trio
He furthermore collaborated with Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy on the film’s music, who later on associated with Kamal Haasan on “Vishwaroopam.” The song Kadavaul Phati Mirgam Phati received massive hit popularity. The background score was composed by Mahesh Mahadevan.
4.Tarantino’s Inspiration
Quentin Tarantino admitted in an interview that animated action fight scenes in his 2003 film, Kill Bill, were based on those in Aalavandhan.
5.Casting Changes
Raveena Tandon was initially considered for the female lead, but Simran was the first choice. Rani Mukherjee was first considered for the special appearance, but Manisha Koirala played the part.
6.Anu Haasan’s Role
Anu Haasan portrayed Kamal Haasan’s mother in the film. Raveena Tandon was to give background voice for Anu Haasan.
7.Kamal Haasan’s Transformation
Kamal Haasan delivered a remarkable dual performance, showcasing a dramatic physical transformation for the character of Nandu, including significant weight gain.
8.Multilingual Release
This movie was released in Tamil as ‘Aalavandhan’ and in Hindi as ‘Abhay’ with slight changes. The Tamil version was also dubbed in Telugu as Abhay.
9.Edited Versions
The original theatrical release ran for 2 hours and 57 minutes. The Hindi version on Prime Video is 2 hours and 23 minutes, and the re-release was shortened to 2 hours and 2 minutes.
10.Technological Milestone
“Aalavandhan” holds the distinction of being the first Indian film to utilize motion control camera technology.
11.Jayam Ravi’s Early Career
Actor Jayam Ravi worked as an assistant director on this film.
12.Awards Recognition
This film won the National Film Award for Best Special Effects (Madhusudhanan) in the year 2001. Kashi Vishwanath won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Editor.
13.Initial Reception
Of course, even though it has the cult status of a movie now, at the time of release, “Aalavandhan” was a financial disaster. Producer Thanu gave the financial burden of the film. Negative publicity was caused by controversial advertising as well: posters of Kamal Haasan were nude.
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