With the prospect that Mr Haasan’s ambitious film may finally become a reality, we revisit a few mind-boggling facts about the mammoth project – Marudhanayagam is a long-delayed high budget Indian Tamil film directed and produced by Kamal Haasan. The film which started in October 1997 with an exclusive launch by Queen Elizabeth II originally pulled together several prominent names across Indian cinema as its principal cast and crew. However since the launch, the film despite rumours of resurfacing went ahead with filming at intervals with a hell load of hiccups.
In the mid-nineties, Kamal Haasan seriously contemplated working on a spectacular historic film similar to Ben Hur or Brave Heart, but more ambitious and one which reflected the often-ignored aspects of our rich history. For several months he toyed with the idea of attempting a full-length musical historical – something on the lines of the 1937 blockbuster Ambikapathy starring Bhagavathar – with only verses as dialogues. This idea was shelved quoting commercial reasons. It was late writer and novelist Sujatha who then suggested Mr Haasan to browse through a folk ballad edited by an eminent Tamil scholar, Vanamamalai, which introduced him to a legendary 18th century Tamil warrior named Maruthanayagam Pillai, who rose from humble beginnings and went on to become the much feared Muhammed Yusuf Khan. He was so intrigued with the life of the historic figure that he believed that Maruthanayagam’s story, if narrated well, had all the potential to become a never-before-attempted film in Indian cinema.
Check Out The Song Trailer of Marudhanayagam
