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More news →Vallis promos have been superb, says Vara
Top stars couldn't save his last attempt. But Vara Mullapudi is confident that his latest film with Naresh and Rajeev will be a thriller that people will remember for a long time. Having got lots of support from industry bigwigs like SS Rajamouli, Keeravani and his wife, Vara is keenly awaiting the release of Visakha Express. He is confident that NTR's title will bring him good luck. Excerpts from a rendezvous with Vara Mullapudi' Vara Mullapudi is better known for the film Naa Alludu with NTR. At least that was the case till now. With a cast that included Ramyakrishna and NTR, apart from glam dolls Genelia and Shriya, it was bound to be a super sensational release. But the film failed to work its magic on the audience. Yet, he made friends with NTR, something that has remained long after the film's box-office debacle. But the film is now history for Vara. He has a promising thriller lined up for release. Visakha Express is releasing next week. It has Rajeev Kanakala and Allari Naresh playing interesting and very different characters in the film. 'It was NTR who suggested the title to me. He did drop by a couple of times to meet me. People put two and two together and now everyone thinks NTR has put in a special appearance in the film. But there are no such surprises, barring those in the plot' Instead of doing the good guy and the bad guy, the heroes have swapped their roles and now Naresh plays a villain in the film and Rajeev plays the hero. Vara says the pair has been extremely co-operative and that it was fun working with them. One of the memorable experiences he says was shooting with Bangalore-based cinematographer PKH Das. 'I had worked with him for a Kannada film called Anandaa. Then, we started the shoot at 7 am daily. But he could get the shooting started by 7 am here too. That was really some feat,' smiles Vara. Since they were in perfect sync, it was easy to get what he wanted from the veteran cinematographer, he says. Another important aspect of the film that he is very happy with, is the music. Though Vara himself was not sure of whom to approach for the kind of gripping music that he had wanted, it was Rajeev Kanakala who suggested Vijay Kurakula's name. Though Vijay worked on a thriller A Film by Arvind earlier, it was a film that had less dialogues and more music unlike Visakha Express that had lots of dialogues. But between Vara and Vijay, they managed to get the right track for the film. The film has a song, O prema, by S P Balasubramaniam after a long time. Incidentally, there is also a rap version of the same. 'That was suggested by Keeravani. But it has been done just for the album. The response for the song has been overwhelming though,' confides Vara. 'O prema's rap version was suggested by Keeravani. But it has been done just for the album. The response for the song has been overwhelming though' Not just Keeravani, he has had lots of support from the industry in the making of Visakha Express. Highly impressed by Vara's story, SS Rajamouli first offered to direct and then produce the film. However, as neither of them worked out, he is now presenting the film. Rajamouli's friend and screenplay writer-director Chandrasekhar Yeleti did the screenplay for Visakha. But ask Vara if NTR has put in a guest role for him, he is quick to deny the rumours. 'It was NTR who suggested the title to me. He did drop by a couple of times to meet me. People put two and two together and now everyone thinks NTR has put in a special appearance in the film. But there are no such surprises, barring those in the plot,' insists Vara. Going back to Naa Alludu, he says some times despite the best efforts, films tend to fail if the audiences do not like what is on offer. 'The credit goes to NTR for playing the dual role superbly. He played both Karthik and Murugan and his dance in the song Yen peru Murugan was simply superb. Then, there was the gorgeous Ramyakrishna. But still the film did not work,' says Vara. One person that Vara cannot thank enough from all those who helped him is Keeravani's wife Valli. After having promised him to do the promos and publicity for his film before the shooting began, she has come up with some very interesting promos. 'She has amazing clarity and superb visualization. Her colour sense too is very good,' says an obviously thankful Vara. It was not just the promos, Valli apparently helped him in costume designing too. 'She has amazing clarity and superb visualization. Her colour sense too is very good' Vara is proud that Madhu and Naveen, who had edited the promos are already in great demand. It will be a week before Visakha Express' fate at the BO will be known. For now, Vara Mullapudi is like an anxious, expecting father, waiting for his baby to be delivered.
Vaali - A poetic birthday
Veteran lyricist Vaali, who has carved a niche for himself penning several hundred songs in Tamil movies, celebrated his birthday on Sunday. Having worked over three generation of film-makers and artistes, Vaali's career spanning over five decades saw his work with stalwarts like MGR, Sivaji Ganesan and Gemini till the latest Dhanush's and Jeyam Ravi's. Winner of several awards and accolades, Vaali has been quite youthful in his songs. The classical example is his songs in the latest Sillunu Oru Kaadhal set to tunes by A R Rehman. Having worked with several musicians, Vaali has come out with several poetries and all of them have widely acclaimed and appreciated. A close aide of poet Kannadasan, Vaali says that he still has a long way to go and achieve more.
Vaali's songs will be eternal: Lyricist Thamarai
Mourning the death of the Tamil cinema's renowned lyricist Vaali, Thamarai says his work will never fade with time and his songs will remain eternal. Vaali, 82, passed away Thursday due to respiratory problem in a private hospital here. "It's a big loss for our industry. So many legends have passed in the past few months. Vaali sir will always be remembered for his work. Time can take him away, but definitely not his songs, which will remain eternal," Thamarai, a lyricist, said. "Some songs are popular during a time period. People listen to these songs for a while and then move on. But, the songs Vaali sir has given us are not time bound," she added. Thamarai, who has written several chartbusters such as "Anul Maley Pani Thuli" and "Kangal Irandhal", says it would be almost impossible to find Vaali's heir-apparent. "We have so many wonderful lyricists now, but I doubt if any of us could even replace Vaali sir. It's not about the number of songs he has written, but the number of lives he has touched with his words," she said. Thamarai recalls Vaali as an octogenarian with a heart of a 20-year old. "He was a teenager at heart. His age was just a number, but seldom did it have an effect on his work. He could write songs that would even impress today's teenager who might be exposed to western music and Bollywood," she said. Vaali most recent hit songs include "Sonapareeya" from Tamil romantic-drama "Maryan", which released Friday and recently released song called "Ethir Neechal" and "Velicha Poove" from Tamil romantic-comedy "Ethir Neechal". In a career spanning over five decades, Vaali has penned lyrics to over 10,000 songs. Some of his evergreen hits include "Thottal Poo Malurum", "Naan Aanai Ittal", "Moondrezhuthil Yen Moochirukkum" and "Puthiya Vaanam, Puthiya Boomi".
Vaali Passes Away
However, after a few days of improvement, his condition drastically deteriorated and was shifted from special ward to the ICU, where he was kept in observation and treated for about a month. His condition further worsened a couple of days back and Vaali was assisted with ventilator. Big stars like Kamal Hassan and AR Rahman visited and comforted him at the hospital, while the entire film fraternity was praying for his speedy recovery. However nothing seems to have helped, as the great man breathed his last at the hospital today.
Big honor for Vaali
Veteran lyricist Vaali, who has working with over three generation of actors, is one of the proud recipients of the Padma Shree awards announced by the Central government for this year. Still young at heart, Vaali has penned lyrics for over thousands of songs beginning from MGR till S J Suryah and Silambarasan. He has worked with almost all the music directors in Tamil cinema. He shares a good rapport with veteran music-directors M S Viswanathan, Ilayaraja and the likes of A R Rahman and Yuvan Shankar Raja too. Many of his songs for MGR are popular among the Tamil music-lovers. Winner of several awards, he is also a great spiritualist, who has penned poems on Mahabaratha and Ramayana. Also known for his acting skills, he had acted in few films including Kamal Haasan's Hey Ram. Currently Vaali is penning dialogues for a movie titled Maaligaipurathamman.
B-day for Vaali
The Bhishmar Pithama among Tamil film lyricist Vaali today celebrated his birthday with typical unassuming elegance. The age-less poet was congratulated and wished on the occasion by Tamil film dignitaries and other poets in the language. We at musicmazaa wish this phenomenal writer a very happy birthday too.