Watch: Team 'Jagame Thandhiram' discusses songs, casting and more in fan event

Hosted by Kiki and RJ Vijay, the event saw the attendance of the ‘Jagame Thandhiram’ team, fans from across the globe and celebrities such as Niharika NM and Ravichandran Ashwin.
Dhanush seen in poster of Jagame Thandhiram
Dhanush seen in poster of Jagame Thandhiram
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Actor Dhanush’s upcoming gangster drama Jagame Thandhiram is all set to premiere on over-the-top (OTT) platform Netflix from June 18.  The Karthik Subbaraj directorial stars Dhanush, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Joju George, Kalaiyarasan, Sharath Ravi and James Cosmo.  Ahead of the premiere, a fan event titled ‘Kongas Kondatham’ was organized by the makers on Thursday, June 17. The event, which started at 4 pm and went on for over two hours, was hosted by television host Keerthi Shanthanu aka Kiki and RJ Vijay.  

‘Kongas Kondatham’ was organized to provide fans an opportunity to meet team Jagame Thandhiram and celebrate the film. The event saw the attendance of fans from across the globe via Zoom. Select fans were given the opportunity to share their excitement and interact with director Karthik Subbaraj, composer Santhosh Narayanan and lead actor Aishwarya Lekshmi. Many members of the team, including Karthik Subbaraj, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Santhosh Narayanan, singer Dhee, actors Deepak Paramesh, Sharath Ravi and Kalaiyarasan, dance choreographer Sheriff and others joined the event and spoke about Jagame Thandhiram.

The makers also unveiled several exclusive videos as a part of the event, including behind-the-scenes videos, the making video of the dance number ‘Bujji’ and a fan-made dance video of ‘Rakita Rakita’, among others. The event also saw the presence of celebrities like popular Instagrammer Niharika and cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin.  

Based on the life of Suruli (played by Dhanush), Jagame Thandhiram tracks how a small-time, Madurai-based gangster finds himself in the crosshairs with a UK-based gangster. The film explores the face-off of two powerful gangsters who hail from different cultures. Sharing how he came up with the plot, Karthik Subbaraj said, "The idea for Jagame Thandhiram struck me when I was strolling through the streets of New York. Since several classic gangster dramas are set in New York, I wanted to explore how a local gangster would fight a New York-based gangster. But with time, New York became London and we narrowed the Tamil Nadu gangster as someone hailing from Madurai.” 

Speaking about the casting choices, the director pointed out that Dhanush was the first choice for the role, without a doubt. “Dhanush really liked Suruli’s character and said he wants to do the film,” he said. 

Explaining how Hollywood actor James Cosmo was roped in for the film, Karthik noted, "We wanted to cast a Hollywood A-lister in the film. So, when we decided to shoot the film in London, we wanted an actor who is based out of London. James Cosmo was among the top choices. When he heard about the film, he was very excited to be part of an Indian film.” 

In addition, Karthik also said that James Cosmo was eager to dance to one of the songs in the movie. “You can't blame him as Indian films are synonymous with musical numbers. He kept asking me for that. But, we couldn’t give him a song, and that made him a bit sad," the director revealed at the event.  

Answering a question raised by a fan about Mollywood female actors being cast in the lead in most of the director’s movies, Karthik laughingly explained how the choice to cast Aishwarya as Attila, a Sri Lankan Tamil singer, wasn’t influenced by a geographic factor but was rather based on the acting abilities and the audition. “I loved Aishwarya Lekhshmi’s performance in Mayaanadhi and thought she’d be a good fit for the role,” Jigarthanda fame Karthik revealed.

Aishwarya Lekshmi, who also joined the event on Zoom, shared details about her audition for Jagame Thandhiram. "After I auditioned for Jagame Thandhiram, Karthik Subburaj sir told me that the film was not happening right now as he was going to do a Rajinikanth film next. I thought it was his kind way of saying I did not make the cut. But, his associate got in touch with me a year later and offered me the role," Aishwarya stated. 

The Jagame Thandhiram team also shared details about the ideation and making of songs in the film. Many singles from the album such as ‘Rakita Rakita’ and ‘Bujji’ have gone viral on social media.  

Watch the full event here: 

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