WATCH: Archana Kalpathi Interview: ‘GOAT Will Feature Vintage Vijay’
WATCH: Archana Kalpathi Interview: ‘GOAT Will Feature Vintage Vijay’
In 2019, a week before the release of Vijay BigilIts producer, Archana Kalpathi of AGS Productions, is proud of the way it turned out.
Cut to September 2024, and Archana has another film with Vijay on the cards. even as The greatest ever Hit screens on September 5, Archana, a self-confessed Vijay fan-turned-producer, is both anxious and excited about the film.
“It’s like waiting for your board exam results,” smiles Archana, “You’ve worked hard on a project and now you’re waiting to see how it’s received.”
The greatest ever Directed by Venkat Prabhu (GOAT), one of the biggest Tamil movies of 2024. How did it all start?
Victory is a constant the goat; and Archana Kalapati
“Later BigilAGS and Vijay sir wanted to do a film together again. Venkat Prabhu pitched five storylines to us and after that Manadu became a blockbuster, we wanted him to direct Sivakarthikeyan’s 24th film. In parallel, when I met Vijay sir, we discussed an idea of Venkat Prabhu. It was a technically difficult subject but we decided to start it. the goat A complete victory film in terms of story, screenplay and scale. We have done things that the audience would least expect and if those things click, the film will be a huge success,” he says confidently.
What Archana is referring to is not just the project’s future endeavors — the goat uses de-aging techniques to depict Vijay as a 23-year-old — but also references other iconic moments from the actor’s discography. In the trailer, in fact, Vijay is given a popular comedy dialogue which he acted jhiliHis 2004 superhit flick. “I felt the last few films starring Vijay missed the light-hearted moments we grew up watching. the goat They will remain.”
AI wave
the goatWith a run-time of around three hours, it is a multi-starrer that boasts of actors including Prashant, Prabhu Deva, Mohan, Jayaram, Sneha and Laila. It also made extensive use of artificial intelligence; Late Tamil actor Vijayakanth appeared in a sequence and late singer Bhavatharini sang a song, both thanks to AI. “AI…well, it will definitely be a game-changer,” explains Archana, “In terms of filmmaking, the possibilities are endless. We can bring many actors back to the big screen. But on the flip side, it will take away jobs, which is our solution. have to.”
Victory in a still from ‘The Greatest of All Time’ (the goat)
Vijay’s entry into Tamil Nadu politics and his possibility of quitting acting has already attracted attention. The flag anthem of his political party, Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) was released recently. However, this is not the best news for someone like Archana who is not only a fan but also a theatre-owner. “His tent-pole film of the year as it will help us turn the tide in three bad months of box-office collections. Opening and collection are guaranteed. That’s the revenue we use to offset our slow months, so it’s going to be a big gap. We will all miss him in films.”
break the mold
As a production house, AGS is known for content-oriented films; It gave viewers such movies Santosh Subramaniam, Madrasapattinam, Thani Oruvan and more recently, love today. While Tamil cinema continues to patronize new filmmakers, production is not in the “healthiest place”, agrees Archana. “As producers, we are going through turbulent times. Until the pandemic, there were bets on film to do well as theaters. Then there was the satellite and digital business, but then the whole game changed. Now, there has to be some balance where we make films that play in theaters and later.” For this, marketing is important. He recently did a Mari Selvaraj-directed song friedAs an example of a film doing well despite not having major commercial elements. “If you have a good trailer and market the film in a fresh way, the audience will come.”
He has high hopes though the goat At this point, Archana will soon move on to her next project the dragonDirected by Aswath Marimuthu and starring Pradeep Ranganathan love today Fame in leadership. “Its success love today Script Superstar taught us. The current generation of filmmakers and audiences are watching films and listening to music from all over the world, unlike me, who at my age watched Tamil and English films and more than other language films. With AI coming in, this is an exciting space for Indian cinema and could break the mould. This generation will help us do that.”
