Dhanush calls OM a film with five heroes

Dhanush put himself last when he counted the heroes of OM: Chapter 1, Udhiram: The Blood Wood. Mammootty, Sai Pallavi, Sreeleela and composer Sai Abhyankkar came before him. Speaking at Friday’s audio launch in Chennai, he called Rajkumar Periasamy’s upcoming release a “multi-hero film”.

Mammootty, he said, had overturned an old impression. During an earlier brief appearance in a Malayalam film with him, Dhanush had taken his quietness for sternness. Working on OM revealed a warm, funny colleague whose replies rarely went where anyone expected. His shorthand for Mammootty’s humour was “Thug Life”.

The joke at Dhanush’s own expense involved Alaakaa Loova. He said he had warned Sai Abhyankkar that the pitch was too high, but the composer and Rajkumar persuaded him to try. Three-and-a-half hours of recording later, he waited for the finished track. Rajkumar eventually told him his version would not be used. Dhanush laughed that Sai was the first composer to record his voice for a song and then drop it. The dance number, he added, came from Rajkumar’s wish to give his fans that side of him.

He also addressed speculation about political backing, saying God guided him, his fans stood behind him and the people were by his side. His request to fans was more practical: look after their families first, spend on welfare work only when they could afford it, and help people in need during the November and December rains.

The evening also brought an apology. In a separate post, Dhanush said thousands of fans had been unable to enter despite holding passes. He took responsibility, expressed regret and said it was his job to prevent a repeat, rather than get into assigning blame.

Mammootty had his own addition to the discussion of heroes: the story came first. Returning to a Tamil project seven years after Peranbu, he recalled being told about a 45-day shoot that eventually stretched across six months, with long night schedules for the smuggling story. He was quick to distinguish his light-hearted speech from the film’s serious tone.

For Sai Pallavi, OM brings two reunions into a very different setting. Children still call her Rowdy Baby akka after her song with Dhanush in Maari 2, she recalled. This time she plays police officer Nithya Reddy. Having asked Rajkumar for a place in his next film while working on Amaran, she found that he had more faith in her ability to play the officer than she did. “He believed in my police role more than I did,” she said, thanking the stunt team and praising the layers he had written into the character.

Sreeleela traced her connection with Dhanush further back than OM. Around the time of her Telugu debut, she said, the first call she received from a major actor and director had come from him. Getting to work together now had a personal significance beyond joining the ensemble.

Rajkumar’s account of the film’s beginnings put Dhanush at a crucial turning point. He said the actor had chosen OM while Amaran was in progress, but unexpected developments nearly ended the project. Dhanush then stepped in to produce it. The director described the story as one about people who put their personal lives aside so others can live in peace.

Sai Abhyankkar, meanwhile, put the album’s count at 18 tracks, saying the team had explored a wider range of musical styles than the genre would ordinarily allow.

The official First Strike teaser offers an introduction to the film:

Naseeruddin Shah and Indrans are also in the cast. First introduced as OM in June, the film is now scheduled to reach theatres on November 20.