How 'Thalapathy' Vijay agreed to act in Thirumalai, director Ramana opens up on the story narration - EXCLUSIVE VIDEO

Ramana Chandrasekhar made a stellar debut in Tamil cinema with 'Thalapathy' Vijay's Thirumalai (2003), which went on to become a raging box office blockbuster. The massive transformation of the Tamil superstar from his boy-next-door looks to an out-and-out mass-action hero stunned everyone and remains a memorable film for the actor's fans everywhere. Having also made films like Sullan (2004) starring Dhanush while once again reuniting with Vijay in Aathi (2006), Ramana who made a complete recovery a few years back after being diagnosed with cancer, recently sat down for an interview with Galatta to share how he landed the job of directing Thirumalai while also revealing how the story narration session went with Vijay.

Speaking about Thirumalai, Ramana said, "This story was not initially written for Vijay but was supposed to be made in Telugu. I previously tried with Prabhas and everything was on track, but there was a small confusion. I then came here heartbroken and got an introduction to Vijay sir with the help of my friend Radhamohan. Right from a young age, I'm used to talking and expecting praise as well. When I'm done talking, I expect either claps or a pat on the shoulder. Or, they can fire me with criticism. But, both these responses cannot be seen with Vijay on the spot. All he did during the three-hour narration was simply nod his head and I was confused whether he liked or disliked the story." 

Ramana continued, "Once the full narration was done, he picked up his phone and spoke to his father. He asked his father whether he was free the next day and told me to narrate the story to him. He then got up and left and I was confused because I was narrating non-stop and didn't get a reply from him about whether he liked the story or not. I then called up Radha and told him everything that happened. When I said that Vijay asked me to meet his father, he jumped up in joy and told me that I'd been fixed as the director. He then told me that Vijay will not send me to meet his father if I didn't impress him during the first level of discussion."

Concluding his explanation, Ramana added, "I realized the next day that Vijay sir felt confident about me as his next film's director and only then called his father. It wasn't the other way around where he spoke to his father and made the decision. He doesn't show his excitement because, in his experience, anything might come and change in any manner. I came here with a lot of dejection from Hyderabad but got the distinction of a director in three days and it appeared as the headlines on all the leading daily newspapers." 

Watch Ramana talk about working with 'Thalapathy' Vijay in Thirumalai in the video below: