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ENDHIRAN (THE ROBOT) on buzzinebollywood.com

FILM INTERVIEW: CAST OF 'ENDHIRAN (THE ROBOT)'

All-Time Highest-Grossing Tamil Film Arrives at Film Fest in Virginia

By: Parimal M. Rohit

February 16, 2011

The 4th Annual William & Mary Global Film Festival kicked off its opening on Thursday, February 17th with the southern United States debut of Shankar’s Endhiran (The Robot), which stars South Indian actor Rajnikanth in a double role, and leading Bollywood lady Aishwarya Rai. Running through February 20th, the inclusion of Endhiran marks another significant landmark for the film with roots in Kollywood, Bollywood, and Hollywood.

Named the 2010 Indian of the Year in Entertainment by India’s CNN/IBN, the film’s director--Shankar--will be honored with the inaugural “W&M Global Film Can” award; other recipients include: Japanese director Nobuhiko Obayashi; his daughter, screenwriter Chigumi Obayashi; and French director Yann Arthus Bertrand.

One of the personalities behind the film, Fusion Edge Media’s Jack Rajasekar, will be making the short commute from his Virginia Beach, Virginia office to the College of William & Mary campus in Williamsburg, Virginia, where the Global Film Festival is held.

Rajasekar served as one of the film’s executive producers and was an essential player in making Endhiran--one of the biggest Hollywood-Bollywood crossover productions ever; the film had a budget of Rs. 1.9 billion ($41.6 million).

“It is the greatest assemblage of talent ever to work on an Indian film,” Rajasekar, whose post-production team included Hollywood players Mary Vogt (creator of the film’s costume design) and animatronics studio Legacy Effects (Iron Man, Avatar), said.

“The enthusiasm and passion with which everyone thrust themselves into this project proved something to me that, frankly, I already knew: Hollywood and the Indian cinema community have embarked on a cooperative course, the result of which will be a ‘Golden Age’ of cinema unlike any ever before witnessed. The Robot is just the start.”

Screening at Kimball Theater in Colonial Williamsburg’s Merchant’s Square, Rajasekar will be joined by the film’s U.S.-based technical team, including Vogt (Men in Black, Batman Returns), supervisor of animatronics Alan Scott (Terminator 2, Terminator 3, Pearl Harbor, Jurassic Park III), special makeup and effects coordinator Vance Hartwell (Lord of the Rings trilogy, War of the Worlds), cinematographer Randy Rathnavelu, and special effects supervisor Sreenivasan.

Endhiran, which released in 2010 and was filmed in Tamil, Hindi, and Engish, went on to become the highest-grossing Indian film of all time with box office receipts.

“I am very happy that the film has been liked by audiences,” actor Rajnikanth told the media in India during one of the film’s many premieres.

During the film’s media blitz prior to its release, Rai told the press that Endhiran was far ahead of its time.

“Director Shankar and myself were attempting to do a project for quite a while now. The opportunity came with Robot. This is not an easy film to make and is technically way ahead,” the former Miss World stated to the press. “He (Shankar) redefines magnificence and is willing to push creative boundaries.”

The story itself features a dedicated scientist (portrayed by Rajnikanth) who creates a genius robot with human emotions. In fusing technology and human emotion into one being, the scientist hopes both may coexist for the betterment of society. However, the plan goes painfully awry when the robot falls in love with his creator’s fiancée (portrayed by Rai). In the name of his newfound love, the robot goes on to terrorize a local Indian city with his mobilized army of machines.

Based in Williamsburg, Virginia, the festival’s overarching themes combine “three of the highest profile trends in film and pop culture today: the environmentalist movement, comic book super heroes, and vampires.”

Other films scheduled to screen at the festival include: God of Love, Superhero Me, Home, Cooked, Everything’s Cool, Hausu/House, and Waste Land.