More than a decade ago, cinematographer SD Vijay Milton was called to shoot a song for Samurai . He spent close to nine days on the road with director Balaji Sakthivel and actor Vikram — to film the melodious ‘Moongil Kaadugale’ song. “We travelled in three jeeps across South India, and shot in natural light. Not many actors would have taken that kind of effort for just a song. It’s an experience I’ll never forget,” he says.
Now, in 2014, Vijay, fresh from the success of his well-made Goli Soda , is shooting in Coimbatore for his next directorial, 10 Enradhukulla , starring Vikram and Samantha Ruth Prabhu. The road thriller has so far been shot across Ladakh, Sikkim and Hyderabad.
The team is now canning an action sequence, featuring Vikram and Pasupathi, with 14 cameras. Stunt choreographer Lee Whittaker, who has worked on Viswaroopam , Arrambam and most recently Lingaa , is working on the stunts for this film too.
Director Vijay Milton says they chose to shoot in Coimbatore because, in the film, the action takes place here. They have so far shot at the expansive CODISSIA grounds, IT Park stretch and the Avanashi Road flyover.
Vijay knows there is huge expectation of his film, purely because it is Vikram’s next after Shankar’s magnum opus I . “Star power is a huge draw for this film,” admits Vijay. After Goli Soda , where he directed young people, how different is it directing top-ranked stars? “There’s just no difference. Vikram Sir is very down-to-earth and a malleable actor. He is a director’s dream-come-true, a delight to work with. We discovered that we enjoy great vibes years ago, and the friendship still continues,” he says.
Vijay smiles when asked about ‘Moongil Kaadugale’, and the much-spoken about shot of a giant tree, which eventually turns out to be a small shrub. “Vikram found that shrub and pointed it out to me. What a scene it was!” he recalls.
