Director Sundar C has shared some interesting stories from the days he was shooting for Arunachalam with ace actor Rajinikanth. The director has revealed that he initially didn’t like the story of the film, but he also didn’t want to miss an opportunity to work with Rajinikanth. Hence, he agreed to do it.
While shooting for the Athanda Ethanda song, Rajinikanth wished to have a Shiva lingam in the dance place. The director, sharing the story said, “Where to go for a Shiva lingam at that time? No one knew what to do.”
“The art director saw the egg used for cooking. He flipped it over and painted it black and turned it into a Shivalinga.” So, what is used in the song is not the Shiva lingam, but the egg.
“With the combined intellect of the art director, Rajini was able to create the Shiva lingam he wanted right there and then. This integrated intellect is needed by everyone who works in cinema. Especially for assistant directors,” the director said.
Something similar happened during Kamal Haasan’s film Mahanadhi, directed by Santhana Bharathi. That song, too, was shot in the temple. During the shoot, Kamal wished it would be nice if there was a waterfront scene in the area.
The responsibility was handed to Cheran, who was the assistant director in the film. Only then did he realize that the waterfall was a musical instrument. They filmed the particular scene. However, it was not the way Kamal wanted. Following this, the actor got angry and things turned the wrong way as 4 people, including Cheran left the movie.
