After his 2006 gangster film, Pudhupettai, Selvaraghavan took a sabbatical to plan future projects and set up a production company, White Elephants, along with Yuvan and cinematographer Arvind Krishna
White Elephants' first project Idhu Maalai Nerathu Mayakkam started in November 2006.Maalai Nerathu Mayakkam was co-produced by new producer R. Ravindran, and the first schedule began with Karthi, whose first film, Paruthiveeran, was awaiting release, and Kaadhal-fame Sandhya.The film was stalled in early 2007 due to cinematographer Arvind Krishna's decision to leave White Elephants and the project was eventually shelved.In July 2007, Selvaraghavan announced a new film with a new team of Karthi and Reemma Sen in the cast, with Ramji replacing regular Arvind Krishna as the cinematographer.Erum Ali, wife of actor Abbas, came onboard as the team's head costume designer,Selvaraghavan's sister-in-law and Rajinikanth's daughter, Aishwarya Dhanush, was signed on as the film's associate director.The project was named after the popular MGR film, Aayirathil Oruvan, in August 2007.The producer was announced to be R. Ravindran while Yuvan Shankar Raja was appointed as music director following five previous successful soundtracks in Selvaraghavan films.Despite early indications that the director's brother Dhanush was going to play an important role as the king, the role was subsequently given to R Parthiepan.Andrea Jeremiah was also signed for a role in the film in October 2007, in her second film after Pachaikili Muthucharam.Selva revealed that he chose Andrea for the role of Lavanya, the archeologist, as he wanted someone tall, commanding and yet vulnerable, as opposed to the headstrong Anitha.Director Azhagam Perumal also joined the film's cast in November 2007The film's pre-production happened for almost a year, with Selva taking 5 months to complete the script.The film's first schedule of shoot happened in the forests of Chalakudy in Kerala with Karthi, Reemma Sen and Andrea during October 2007.The project developed a reputation for its gruelling shoots, a novel concept in Tamil films, at an early stage of productionRains in Kerala led to the budget overshooting by a huge margin two months into the project.In January 2008, the unit moved to Jaisalmer in Rajasthan to shoot in the deserts in the region, however they were delayed again by unseasonal rains.Shoots were tough and demanding for the crew as the film featured more than 3000 junior artistes from a variety of unions across India, with the language barrier becoming a problem.The whole of the second half was shot inside the sets constructed in Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad.The second half was shot over three months with a meager budget, compared to the first half.In the studios, choreographer Shivshankar composed a classical dance for Reemma Sen and Parthiepan, and the sequence was shot over twenty daysNearly six months after filming began, Yuvan Shankar Raja left the project, because he could not spend as much time on this film as Selvaraghavan wanted.Subsequently, the role of the music director was handed to G. V. Prakash Kumar, for whom Aayirathil Oruvan became his biggest project to that pointRambo Rajkumar, the film's stunt director, died in April 2009 and was posthumously praised for his action choreography.Soon after the filming finished, the lead actors moved onto other projects as did Selvaraghavan whilst post-production continued.In August 2009, Selvaraghavan divorced his wife, Sonia Agarwal, with his close proximity to Andrea being a speculated cause. The two however denied the reports.During the period, GV Prakash Kumar and Selva also worked on the music in Mumbai whilst re-recording was also held in Austria and London.The project, 18 months into shoot, began to face questions about its progress, with the makers having to complain to TFPC that Karthi was trying to change his look for his next film, Paiyaa.Filming continued on a constrained budget and the makers announced the release date as Christmas, which was later further delayed to coincide with the Pongal festival.In February 2009, filming was completed after 263 days of shooting; and a Pongal release was finally confirmed. The project had been delayed for a solid 9 months.However, a date clash occurred with Karthi's Paiyaa, with an eventual hearing leading to the Lingusamy film being delayed.When inquired by the media in regard to the long periods of shoot, Karthi expressed that they were also unaware of how long the film's shoot was going to carry on.Reemma Sen originally signed for forty days whilst Andrea signed for three months, without knowing that the film would eventually take 263 days of filming.Parthiepan claimed to have been signed for forty days, shot for 140 days for the film.Throughout December 2009, release work began with a trailer and promotional songs being released on 13 December.The film was given a A certificate by the CBFC, after Selvaraghavan refused to remove the intimate and gory scenesThe makers announced that Aayirathil Oruvan had been sold worldwide for 350 million rupees for the theatrical, television and other rights.While the film's final cut had a duration of 181 minutes, the film was reedited to 154 minutes, following audience feedback after the first few shows.The film's savage climax was also extensively trimmed after distributors thought that it would keep the family crowd away.although 'Un Mela Aasadhan', composed by Prakash Kumar, was noted for sThe number 'Adada', composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja for the film, was removed after his departure and instead used in Sarvam.'Un Mela Aasadhan', composed by Prakash Kumar, however, was noted for sounding very similar to 'Adada.'The soundtrack to Aayirathil Oruvan was released on 14 June 2009 at a University Auditorium in Chennai, in a critically praised event.Prominent film personalities across the South Indian film industry attended the launch, which became one of the first films to play live music at the audio launch.The launch featured live performances from G. V. Prakash Kumar and Andrea Jeremiah for several songs, as well as songs from Dhanush and Aishwarya Dhanush.Parthiban's character was hyped up a lot in the launch.The launch featured a fashion show from Erum Ali, a Kalari performance, Chenda Melam by women from Kerala, a classical dance performance by actress Poorna, choreographed by Sivashankar.The album features ten tracks; six songs, two alternate versions and another two theme songs. Three out of the six songs were sung by Andrea.Veteran vovalist PB Sreenivas made a comeback to playback singing with the song, Pemmane, which had him performing with Bombay Jayashree.Dhanush sang Un Mela Aasa Daan along with wife Aishwarya and Andrea.Lyrics for the songs were written by Vairamuthu, Veturi Sundararama Murthy, Selvaraghavan and Andrea Jeremiah.For the songs Pemmane and Thaai Thindra Mannae, which were set in the thirteenth century, research was carried out to find instruments used during that period.A Yaazh, a melodic instrument used in the Sangam Period, and a horn, a brass instrument made from animal horns from Bhutan, were used.The soundtrack garnered critical acclaim and was considered Prakash Kumar's finest work to date.Shortly after the music release, an album success meet was held, another first in the industry.In the film, only five songs from the album are used in their entirety.Moreover, one song in the film, not included in the soundtrack, is the original version of Adho Andha Paravai Pola from Aayirathil Oruvan (1965), which was bought from the original copyright holders.The film's picturisation of the three exploring the ruins of the fallen kingdom in one of the songs, was praised.Andrea's Maalai Neram was not picturised because of budget concerns.Pratap K Pothen played a cameo as an archaeologist, who went missing during a search for the Chola kingdom, prompting a manhunt.The Natarajar shadow scene was created using CGI.The film ended with a tease to a second part, and Selvaraghavan tweeted last year that the project was very much alive and will definitely happen.Here are a few more snapshots from the brilliantly-shot film...