Keerthy Suresh Makes Playback Singing Debut In Saamy Square

Like most big Tamil film events, the audio launch of Chiyaan Vikram's Saamy Square was a long affair. The event began at 7.30 pm, way past the scheduled time, and went on till 10 pm. However, the presence of all the main stars associated with the film and some heartfelt speeches made it an experience worth waiting for. Here are some of the highlights:

• Senior actor Prabhu has played an important role in the film. All the speakers talked about his warmth, affection, sense of hospitality and unique means of finding the best food wherever they were shooting. Prabhu said he ranks Vikram right after his father – the legendary Sivaji Ganesan – and Kamal Haasan, in terms of extraordinary Tamil actors.

• Keerthy Suresh was the cynosure of all eyes. The Mahanati effect has clearly worked big time and the term 'great actress' was used to describe her by almost everyone who spoke. Keerthy has also made her playback singing debut in Saamy Square, with the song 'Pudhu Metro Rail' that also features Vikram. Composer Devi Sri Prasad said Keerthy could pull off the recording with ease, thanks to her classical music training. Keerthy and Aishwarya Rajesh, the film's other heroine, formed a little mutual admiration society on stage, when the two commended each other for Kaaka Muttai and Mahanati.
• Aishwarya, who is playing Bhuvana, the character earlier played by Trisha in Saamy, was gracious enough to admit that she couldn't match the magic that Trisha brought to the first part. She added that the Trisha – Vikram pairing was memorable. She underplayed her part in the film, calling it an extended special appearance and said it was fun to groove to the peppy 'Molagapodiye' number with Vikram. This is the film's first song.
• Devi Sri Prasad and Vikram spoke about Aishwarya's tough childhood without her father, and how her mother raised her brother and her amidst hardship. Vikram said she was doing really well now and that she has her own brand of onscreen magic.
• Soori displayed some genuine brotherly affection towards Keerthy Suresh, which she reciprocated. He jokingly talked about director Hari's unique shots, camera angles and super-fast approach to film making.
• Responding to trolls who said that flying Sumos were a part and parcel of his films, Hari was game enough to admit that he couldn't manage without these cars.  He spoke fondly about the time Vikram gave him the opportunity to direct Saamy right after his first film Tamizh and how he committed to Arul even before Saamy's release.
• A few of the speakers like Ramesh Khanna and O.A.K.Sundar  were so enthusiastic that they ended up revealing a bit too much about their characters and the plot. Vikram made hissing sounds to distract them and prevent them from giving out spoilers. Keerthy later said she was hesitant to speak for fear that she may inadvertently leak the story.
• Devi Sri Prasad was the last to arrive, but more than made up for it with a detailed speech, in which he paid glowing tributes to Vikram. He said he considers Vikram a huge inspiration for his extraordinary growth since his humble beginnings as a dubbing artist. DSP spoke highly of the song 'Amma Amma', calling it 'a tribute to all mothers'. The wavelength and positive vibes between DSP and lyricist Viveka were there for all to see. DSP called Vikram a great singer and spoke fondly about their work in the chartbuster Kandasamy. Vikram appealed to the composer to give him a melody track to sing, the next time around.

Saamy Square looks like a possible August-end or September release. It has been produced on a lavish scale by Shibu Thameens.