Meet the first 'cow scientist'

Tamil cinema isn’t new to sobriquets, but in a first of hopefully not many, we now have a hero who has named himself the ‘Animal Star’. Rasan, who has produced and stars as the lead in the upcoming film, Maattukku Naan Adimai, has also named himself, Sambar Rasan. Before you assume that it’s a name he has chosen just for the film, you should know he has officially changed his name to Sambar Rasan.

When asked why he chose ‘Sambar’ out of all the possibilities, the debutant actor-producer says, “Sambar is something we all would’ve had in life. So just like how one would be delighted to have sambar, I want them to be delighted to see me onscreen.”

Set in the villages surrounding Kovilpatti, the film will be about the importance of cows and agriculture. “I was looking for a script that would highlight the significance of cows when my friend, director Ilayakumar, approached me with this film. We’ve handled a serious subject in a comical fashion. But there are scenes where I get angry too. We have five fight sequences and they’re shot in a completely novel manner.”

Sambar Rasan says he plays a ‘cow scientist’. “I develop a technology through which I make the cows password-protected and only the right password will give access to milk the cow. I can also figure out what’s wrong with a cow just by looking at it.” The actor will also don only a loin cloth throughout the film. “It’s Tamil Nadu’s traditional wear and one shouldn’t be ashamed of wearing it.”

The film, which stars Goli Soda fame Sita as the female lead, also covers the sport of jallikattu. “There is a sequence where I play jallikattu, and it’ll be one of the highlights of the film,” says Sambar Rasan. If that wasn’t enough, there’s an even bigger surprise: The title song will apparently make history for the unique way in which it is shot, he says. “That’s a surprise we will reveal at the audio launch next week.” That’s one audio launch I’m not missing.