KOCHADAIYAAN 3D MOVIE - My Poster Design - Artist Ani,Chennai,India

The film posters showed that the film would utilise performance capturing technology, which was used in films such as Avatar and The Adventures of Tintin. During production, Kochadaiiyaan was the first Indian film to utilise the technology. However, Maattraan, another Tamil feature, which also made use of the technology, was released before Kochadaiiyaan, making it the second Indian film to utilise the technology.[59][60][61] K. S. Ravikumar, story writer of the film, announced that the filming would commence from 15 January 2012.[62] The first schedule of indoor shooting started with Rajinikanth's base actions being filmed as per the motion capturing norms.[23]

 

The film was launched with a formal puja on 19 January 2012 at the Ganesha temple located inside AVM Studios in Vadapalani, Chennai.[63] The first phase of production began in Chennai on 15 March 2012. It was then moved to London on 17 March 2012, where motion capture filming was done at Pinewood Studios.[61][64] Production in London lasted for 15 days, during which, Rajinikanth announced that the film might be released for Diwali 2012.[61] After completing the first phase of production in London, the crew returned to Chennai on 2 April 2012. The next schedule of the film shooting was planned at various locations in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.[65]

 

The second phase of production began at the Chitranjali Studio in Thiruvananthapuram.[66] Although initial reports claimed that production had moved to Mohanlal's Vismayas Max studio,[67] it was later reported that shooting never took place at that studio. It instead happened at Accel Animation Studios, where the crew shot scenes which they were unable to complete during their schedule in London.[68] The second phase was completed on 30 April 2012, after which a romantic song choreographed by Saroj Khan was filmed in early May 2012.[69][70] It was said that the entire film shooting would be completed in the second schedule itself and the post-production work would begin. However, the team was off with the lead actor to Hong Kong for the third schedule of the film on 12 May 2012 where some crucial scenes and combat scenes featuring the lead actor and the antagonist were shot at the State of the Arts Gallery studio.[71][72][73] Since the film was shot using performance capture technology, 48 cameras were used to shoot each and every scene. The 48 cameras captured performance of artistes' at 48 angles.[74] Kochadaiiyaan was equipped with Auro 3D sound technology.[75] As per reports, due to involvement of extensive graphics, four separate teams, including teams from Chennai and London were also working on the film.[76] On February 20, 2013 the director announced through Twitter that Kochadaiiyaan was in the process of being finalized.[77] On 28 February 2013 the final edited version of the film was viewed by the director, writer and the lead actor along with handful crew members.[78]

 

In June 2013, Soundarya revealed that the film would feature a fight sequence "in the middle of the ocean", where Rajinikanth's character would be fighting dolphins.[79] The dubbing for the film's Telugu version Vikramasimha began on 25 August 2013.[80][81] In an interview in February 2014, Soundarya revealed that Rajinikanth felt very awkward while shooting romantic shots with Padukone.[82]

Music

Original soundtrack

Main article: Kochadaiiyaan (soundtrack)

 

The soundtrack and background score of the film was composed by A. R. Rahman, who was initially hesitant to work on the project but started after he felt the "positive energy and the commitment".[83] The rights to the soundtrack album were sold to Sony Music Entertainment in August 2012.[84] The track "Engae Pogudho Vaanam" was released on 7 October 2013 as a single, along with its Telugu version "Choodham Aakasam Antham" to positive response.[85] On 9 March 2014, the original version as well as the Telugu version of the album were released at Sathyam Cinemas in Royapettah, Chennai.[86][87] The album gained the top position on the iTunes charts in India within hours of its release. Meanwhile, "Kochadaiiyaan" became a top trending topic on Twitter in India, making it a first for a Tamil film.[88]

Sound design

 

Resul Pookutty is the sound designer for the film. He worked over two and a half year on the sound design of the film. Three teams of sound editors were working in Los Angeles, Mumbai and Chennai under him. The final phase of re-recording was done in Chennai at A. R. Rahman’s studio during end-March 2014. In an interview with The Hindu he quoted, "For the war sequence, we got 150 people scream like how they would in a war and recorded the sound. I went to fortresses and collected samples of how sound resonates. Based on the impulse response data, we recreated the acoustics of a durbar." Pookutty started working from the scratch instead of utilising available sound samples. He added that when his team started working on the foley (ambient sounds) he told the film director to provide him with the exact costumes utilised whilst filming. However, realizing that the filming was done using performance capture technology, the entire set of costumes were designed to provide requisite foley. He also payed attention to nuances extensively where he added, "For instance, the image you see on screen is a composite of several layers of images. The clothes, the movement, the swords and so on were created separately and put together. My team also had to add sound, layer by layer."[89]

Marketing

 

The first trailer of the film was all set to be screened at 66th annual Cannes Film Festival in mid-May 2013,[90] however it was delayed due to Soundarya's dissatisfaction over the final cut of the trailer.[91] The first teaser trailer was released digitally on 9 September 2013, coinciding with Ganesh Chaturthi[92] to mixed response; while fans of Rajinikanth were satisfied, others criticised it for its "poor visual effects".[93] It was also noted for its similarities to the teaser trailer of Soundarya's shelved animation venture Sultan the Warrior, that was also supposed to feature Rajinikanth.[94][95] Nevertheless, it was viewed over 1 million times on a single day, establishing it as one of the most anticipated film teasers in the history of Tamil cinema.[96] Soundarya also announced that a second trailer would be released, which would feature Padukone prominently,[97] and unlike the first trailer, it would have sound and dialogues.[98] The trailer was released in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi on 9 March 2014, the same day of the audio launch.[99]

 

The film will have special screenings in Los Angeles, London and India. In 2012, the producers struck a deal with Karbonn Mobiles, an Indian telecommunication firm that will involve Kochadaiiyaan merchandise worth INR5 lakh (US$8,400) with screen savers and images from the film along with the trailer, behind the scenes shots, signature tune of the film and lead actor's signature on back cover of phones.[100] However, delays in the film caused the clause to be modified. Sudhir Hasija, chairman of Karbonn, said, "We will roll out a million handsets by February-end or first week of March 2014 with a pre-loaded app for the movie. All the handsets will come with the signature of Rajinikanth. This is the first time any mobile handset maker is launching products with an augmented reality app." The promotional tactic is an extension of Eros' alliance with Karbonn, wherein the latter will make a million special-edition phones. Using augmented reality, producers of Eros International and Mediaone Global Entertainment have developed interactive Kochadaiiyaan hoardings in association with Karbonn Mobiles. Eros has deployed 500 interactive hoardings across India. People will have to stand in front of the hoarding and send an SMS to activate the hoarding. Karbonn stated that an estimate of 400 hoardings would be put up across the country, majority in southern states of India.[101] Hoardings and banners of the film will be displayed at 3,650 Bharat Petroleum stations across South India.[102]

 

On 21 April 2013, Soundarya revealed a first fully 3D rendered picture, which shows Rajinikanth in two different avatars.[103] It was also announced that a "making-of-the-movie" video would be released, where a song featuring Rajinikanth's voice would be used.[104][105] It was shown nearly a year later on 9 March 2014 to the audience of the music launch event.[106] The franchise was expanded further as Hungama Digital Media Entertainment and Gameshastra announced the launch of two mobile games based on the film available for download on mobile platforms, called Kochadaiiyaan: Kingdom Run and Kochadaiiyan: Reign of Arrows.[107]

 

iPlay’s director Rave Shankar and his team had approached the film's producers to screen the theatrical trailer in 5-D format at Phoenix Market City Mall in Velachery, Chennai.[108] The producers provided the 3-D print of the trailer at no cost. Shankar and his team worked for about 10 days to get the synchronization of the chair movements, sprayings and light effects for the trailer.[108] The experience for viewers was defined such that the chairs quake and rumble as the scenes of war appear and wet sprays are sprinkled on the audience when the character Kochadaiiyaan rides on a dolphin in the trailer.[108]

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