September 25, 2017
Filmmaker A.R. Murugadoss says forthcoming Tamil-Telugu
bilingual spy thriller "Spyder", which stars superstar Mahesh Babu in the role
of an Intelligence Bureau officer, was a very challenging project.
Having
delivered blockbusters such as "Ghajini", "Thuppakki" and "Kaththi", "Spyder"
marks Murugadoss's maiden bonafide bilingual.
"It's not that I never
wanted to make bilinguals in the past. The plan somehow didn't materialize.
Also, most of my films get dubbed in Telugu and have had a good run. But from
the beginning, the plan was to make 'Spyder' as a bilingual," Murugadoss told
IANS.
The project marks Murugadoss's first-time collaboration with Mahesh
Babu.
It has been his long-time desire to work with the "Okkadu" actor.
"We've been planning to work together for a decade now. In fact, I had even
planned to remake 'Ghajini' in Telugu with Mahesh but things didn't fall into
place and the film later got dubbed. Both of us are glad that we collaborated
for 'Spyder'," he said.
The film marks Mahesh's debut in the Tamil
industry.
Asked how it feels to launch a superstar in a new language,
Murugadoss said: "Mahesh felt like a debutant, but for me, it was as important
as any other film. Agreed, with him on board, there was more pressure to
deliver, but it kept us motivated."
Shooting a bilingual took a toll on
the entire team.
"In the beginning, the idea of a bilingual got us very
excited. It was only after we started shooting, did we realize how challenging
it was. Each scene and even the songs had to be shot twice. It was physically
taxing, especially when most of the shooting happened at night," he added.
Murugadoss is all praise for Mahesh Babu, who he says was very
accommodating.
"We had 80 days of night shoot. Not many stars would be
willing to shoot through the nights so extensively. Mahesh is an exception and
he never complained about night shooting. In fact, he offered to shoot extra
days if needed," he said.
Slated for release on Wednesday, "Spyder" also
stars Rakul Preet Singh, SJ Suryah and Bharath.