21 November 2014

With Lingaa, actor Rajinikanth will mark his return to the big screen after a gap of four years since the release of Enthiran. Lingaa will also be Rajinikanth’s first live action film after recovering from the serious illness which threatened to end his career three years ago.

On Sunday, Lingaa’s audio was released in the presence of Rajinikanth, director, K.S. Ravi Kumar, female leads Anushka Shetty and Sonakshi Sinha at Sathyam Cinemas. Oscar winner, A.R. Rahman, who has composed the tunes, was not present. Instead, a video where he spoke about the film was screened for the fans.

Die-hard fans of the actor began arriving just after the crack of dawn, hoping to catch a glimpse. A stage had been erected just below the screen to accommodate the film’s crew. Speaking about the film, Mr. Rajinikanth said that he had agreed to do the film on one condition. “I told K.S. Ravi Kumar that he had to guarantee that the film could be released within this year. I did not want to do another film which was going to take 2-3 years to shoot.”

He added that fans have been waiting for a live action film after Kochadaiiyaan, which was created using motion-capture technology.

Explaining the delay after Enthiran, he said, “After I recovered, I wanted to announce another film only after the release of Kochadaiiyaan. It was a film that was not getting released and I had to make sure it got a release,” he said.

The trailer of the film screened at the launch suggested that Mr. Rajinikanth plays a dual role in the film, a part of which is set in the British era.

Director K.S. Ravi Kumar said that the entire crew worked without a break for six months from May.

“We all had to work on a tight schedule and clear deadlines without a break. Even A.R. Rahman, who was working on multiple projects, took it up as a challenge to deliver the tunes on a deadline. Finishing a film of this magnitude in such a short span of time is impossible,” he said.

Mr. Rajinikanth added, “We wanted to prove to the industry that a period film could be finished in such a short span of time. This was possible only because of K.S. Ravi Kumar.”