The Bhooloham Press Meet Report

Silverscreen goes to the Bhooloham Press meet

Actor Jayam Ravi piqued our interest today when he claimed that good news was coming our way.

Good news coming ur way this evening 🙂 #Bhoologham press meet

— Jayam Ravi (@actor_jayamravi) June 30, 2014

We spent the better part of our day wondering what on earth it could be. Was it going to rain candy? Are we finally getting rain holidays at Silverscreen? What is it man? We were still thinking about it when we walked into the venue of the Bhooloham press meet today.

Before we could get carried away with it (as we tend to do with most things),  the event organisers found us and told us about their cool new idea for movie promotions. “We got a lot of actresses for Amarakaaviyam because the movie is about love. For Aaha Kalyanam, we showed you guys a real stylish wedding. We thought along the same lines for Bhooloham as well. We brought in the boxing champs who’ve acted in the film to help promote the movie and the sport!” And almost immediately, a group of extremely tall and built young men appeared in front of us.Modelling a variety of (tight)athletic wear and proudly calling themselves ‘gym boys’, the guys began to talk about their experience working on the movie.

[quote align=’right’]An insider’s look at the boxing culture in North Madras and the politics that pervade sports in our country.[/quote]”We ate a kilo of chicken each every day to bulk up. No water. No sugar. Only juice!! Of course no rice!” claimed Raja, who plays Jayam Ravi’s friend and coach of sorts in Bhooloham. “We all learnt some cool new moves in the course of filming. And of course, it was an honour to work with Nathan (Jones), the main villain. He’s from Hollywood you know and he’s actually acted with Brad Pitt and all!” said Tamizh, who appears in some very ‘important’ knockout scenes in the movie. Logu, in a bright yellow shirt, was more interested in our (non-existent) exercise regime. “You should go and work out more. Appo dhaan Trisha maadiri irukka mudiyum!” With a stern warning to cut down on coffee, the guys all moved away in unison.

---

 

[quote align=’left’]You should go and work out more. Appo dhaan Trisha maadiri irukka mudiyum[/quote]It began raining heavily and there was still no sign of our fortune teller hero. Suddenly, there was a flurry of activity and in walked, Jayam Ravi, in a cool blue Captain America T-shirt. Neatly sidestepping several puddles of water, the actor briskly walked inside and began the event. First to speak was Lyricist Vidyasagar. He claimed that every song in the movie has been written with certain scenes in mind and that they would all have an ‘effect’ on the audience. “The songs I have written are deeply personal and emotional to me. They will give you the same feeling it gave me when i wrote them. All the people I have shown the songs to have become very emotional”

This is Director N Kalyanakrishnan’s debut movie. To have  stars like Jayam Ravi and Trisha in his first movie was a ‘complete honour’ for the director. “I was so happy that my lead actors agreed to do this movie. I couldn’t have found a more apt Bhooloham or Gowri! All of this is thanks to one man – my producer Aascar Ravichandran!” To keep the movie rooted, the director actively tried to cast real life boxers with the typical North Madras accent. “We went to a lot of boxing matches to figure out the type of people who should be in the scenes. Every detail was filed away for reference. We have been meticulous about everything! Not a single thing will be out of place!”

[quote align=’left’]Trisha has a very crucial role to play in Bhooloham’s life. She will train him and support him throughout the tournaments he plays. How can she do that if she appears in only 7 or 8 scenes in the film?[/quote]Actor Jayam Ravi plays the titular character in the film. He wanted us to know that this was completely different from his kickboxing role in M Kumaran S/O Mahalakshmi. For starters, the actor had to beef up a lot -“Like 15 – 20 kilos” and get the typical “galeej” accent of North Madras people for this. “I’m a rough and ready ‘cheri’ boxer here,  not the posh and sophisticated guy I played in M Kumaran. I talked to a lot of people while training for this movie and I found that where you come from really changes the way you fight in the ring. So you’ll see a completely different type of boxing here. Bhooloham is more animalistic and brutal while Kumaran had some grace!” He also thanked everybody for the support to his movie Nimirndhu Nil. “I suffered a lot in the weeks leading up to the release but you have always stayed with me and believed me. I hope you will do the same for this film as well. We have invested a thousand percent of ourselves here!”

To everybody’s disappointment, Actress Trisha Krishnan who plays the love interest of Bhooloham in the film could not attend. Contrary to reports, she has a ‘meaty’ and very important role in the film. “See, compared to Jayam Ravi’s character Bhooloham, Trisha’s Gowri will appear in fewer scenes. But she has a very crucial role to play in Bhooloham’s life. She will train him and support him throughout the tournaments he plays. How can she do that if she appears in only 7 or 8 scenes in the film?” said the director.

While shooting for the film has been wrapped up, there is still no word on the movie’s release date. “Our producer and his team will make an announcement shortly! Bhooloham nichayam varuvaan. Seekaram varuvaan!” said N Kalyanakrishnan.

There was no sign of this mysterious ‘good news’ that Jayam Ravi tweeted about when the event ended. When we asked the actor about his cryptic tweet, he laughed. “One good newsnu sollitu, I have told you 5 or 6 things! It also rained today. What more do you guys want?” he demanded and walked away.

 Highlights of Bhooloham :

1. A song has been picturised on the Mayana Kollai ceremony. Jayam Ravi has given it his all and even his diehard fans will not be able to reconcile the image of their favourite ‘chocolate boy’ actor with the character he plays onscreen. He called himself a ‘dark chocolate’ boy, winning props for self deprecation.

2. Absolutely sleaze free and clean entertainment assured. Or at least that’s what the director promised.

3. An insider’s look at the boxing culture in North Madras and the politics that pervade sports in our country.

4. Director SP Jhananathan has written the dialoguues for this movie. N Kalyanakrishnan assisted Jhananathan while Jayam Ravi worked with him on Peranmai.

5. Srikanth Deva says that this album is his best yet. He also asked us to clap very very loudly for him.

6. To see a picture of Jayam Ravi walking in the rain, go here. (hey, we won’t judge)

7. We also have several awesome images of Trisha.