'Thalapathy' Vijay's Leo directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj is scheduled for a massive opening starting October 19 and the film's dialogue writers Rathna Kumar and Deeraj Vaidy sat down for an exclusive interview with Galatta to talk about what fans can expect to witness in theatres. Rathna Kumar and Deeraj Vaidy, who themselves are directors in Tamil cinema, spoke about Vijay's performance in a six-minute single-shot scene and how everyone was left emotional after it was filmed. Rathna Kumar, who has directed Meyaadha Maan (2017) and Aadai (2019), and previously wrote the dialogues in Master (2021) and Vikram (2022), opened up on Vijay's performance in the six-minute single-shot scene and said, "When we went to shoot during that schedule, I confidently told Lokesh that he could give the scene paper to Vijay sir without reading it himself. He too didn't have the time then to have a look at it and told me that he went to another place to see a location. He said that he gave the scene paper to Vijay sir and the shooting too was completed. It's a six-minute single-shot scene. I don't how that scene is going to turn out in the final cut."
Rathna Kumar continued, "The plan on the day of filming that single-shot scene was to shoot only that one scene. So, the entire set was well-prepared since it's an energy-consuming scene and we wanted no technical issues to occur during the filming and go for another take. A thorough planning was done since there were a couple of more characters involved. It was an anxious atmosphere along the lines of several cameras waiting to capture the moment of a bomb blast. It was almost like we wouldn't be able to go for another take. Once that scene was shot, everyone started crying and Lokesh forgot to call it a 'cut'. The scene was a real blast and extremely emotional. It is in that scene that Vijay sir speaks that cuss word in a flow since it's an emotional moment."
Speaking about the atmosphere at the Leo shooting spot, Rathna Kumar said, "After filming that scene, everyone got emotional and hugged each other. There were still four hours of shooting remaining for the day, but Lokesh said that there was no scene, shot, or frame that would satisfy him on that day going forward. He added that he didn't know if he or anyone would be able to film anything that day or if anybody would act like that. He said that he wanted that performance to be his memory for the day when he goes to sleep. And, that is when he called a pack up for the day at the shooting spot, and the scene was shown to Lalit sir on the laptop, who started to cry after watching the performance." He continued, "We were wondering whether he cried because the pack-up for the day was called at noon itself, but he too was quite moved. At the time, I was at my office regarding the work of my film, and Lokesh called and asked me to come over to the shooting spot immediately. I was wondering why they called a pack-up at 3 p.m. When I went there, I too was shown the scene. My eyes were also filled with tears. Lokesh asked me what could be shot after such a performance and that is why he called a pack-up. It was almost like everyone had cried during that scene."
Watch Rathna Kumar and Deeraj Vaidy talk about Leo in the video below:
