Vijay Fans: [OnlyVijayFans] Vijay is betting big on his forthcoming flick.

TESTING TIMES Sources say that Vijay is betting big on his forthcoming flick, directed by M Raja. CT digs for details
Sreedhar Pillai

    Alot is riding on Vijay's next big release Velayudham, which is being directed by M Raja and produced by Aascar Ravichandran. With the actor's Kaavalan turning out to be a hit, Vijay needs an even bigger hit to hold on to the top position. The entire industry is eagerly awaiting Velayudham, which will be his first release after he and his father supported Jayalalithaa in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.

    A leading distributor in Coimbatore says, "A lot is riding on this film for the actor. The trade will take a call on the marketing of the film only after the Assembly election results are out." Meanwhile, the producers have already started promoting the film as one of the biggest of the year as they say it will be Vijay's costliest film. The release of Velayudham, which is almost complete, will depend a lot on who comes to power in Tamil Nadu.

    The mass entertainer stars Vijay, Genelia, Hansika and Saranya Mohan in pivotal roles, with Santhanam, M S Baskar, Sathyan, Pandirajan and Sayaji Shinde also being part of the cast. Vijay is said to be doing a typical 'Rajinikanth Annamalai' type character, playing a milkman who metamorphoses into a larger-thanlife person who hunts down the baddies with the help of an investigative television reporter (Genelia). The buzz is that there will be a lot of punch dialogues in the film, in a bid to hit out at his detractors.

    Talking exclusively to CT, director M Raja says, "Velayudham will be a non-stop rollicking mass movie with all commercial ingredients packaged to provide maximum entertainment. Eighty five per cent of the film is complete. The producer, Ravichandran, has spent lavishly on it to make it rich. For one particular song, we have spent nearly

    two crore. Two more songs remain to be shot, which will be done in Europe."

    Raja adds that there are 15 villains and 30 comedians in the film, which will have five songs and six choreographed action scenes. Says Raja, "The heart of Velayudham is its story, which has a lot of human emotions that will click with the mass audiences. Vijay's love for his sister, played by Saranya Mohan, is the pivot around which the film revolves. Genelia plays a journalist while Hansika is his lady love. The comedy scenes featuring Santhanam, M S Bhaskar and Vijay made the entire unit laugh; so you can imagine how it will work with the mass audiences! Vijay Antony has come out with some peppy mass songs that will surely become chartbusters."

    Velayudham, he feels, will be a landmark film for Ilayathalapathy. Adds Raja, "Vijay is a total mass hero who understands the pulse of the common man. He is a complete professional and never interferes with filmmaking."