20 years on, Vijay’s ‘Sachein’ still smiles his way into our hearts

As ‘Sachein’ rereleases in theatres tomorrow, we revisit the Vijay-starrer to see what makes it worthy of a big-screen comeback

Looking through a hazy car window, a dreamy young man with an enchanting grin enters Ooty. There are no slow-motion track shots or standard hero introduction cues. He comes like a breeze, beams at his lady love, dances effortlessly, and leaves without much trace. 20 years on, Sachein is now returning to the big screen, again in that long-sleeved maroon sweater and beige cargo pants, and this time, he promises to make his presence felt. Amidst all the films breathing fresh air in this re-release season, Tamil superstar Vijay’s 41st film is the most in-demand entrant. Sachein, directed by John Mahendran, is being officially re-released this week.

Salem-based auditor and ardent Vijay fan Vicky Vijay doesn’t skip a beat while talking about his plans to catch the re-release. “I still remember the day Sachein was released. My father is a die-hard superstar fan, and he wanted to watch Chandramukhi,” — Rajinikanth’s film, as well as Kamal Haasan’s Mumbai Xpress, released along with Sachein; we’ll get to that in a bit — “However, I was too adamant that we watch the Vijay film. It was a jolly aana Vijay padam, especially thanks to his comedy scenes with Vadivelu, a duo that was popular from Friends,” says Vicky.

Producer Kalaipuli S Thanu of V Creations, who is re-releasing the 4K restoration, was more nervous than the fans 20 years ago. “We were extremely tense. So we wanted music composer Devi Sri Prasad to remix a Telugu song of his in Sachein, and we had even bought the rights. I don’t know what really happened, but it caused quite a stir. Newspapers read ‘Sachein release halted,’ and I was shocked. The court said we hadn’t obtained the rights properly.” Fascinatingly, Thanu explains, DSP composed a whole new tune that matches the song’s lip sync. That ended up being ‘Dai Dai Dai Kattikkoda,’ featuring Vijay and Bipasha Basu, which was added to the film a week after the release.

That’s not all. Theatre owners were sceptical of the release and hesitated to buy the film. “I now fondly remember financiers Sathya Ramamurthy and his son Sathya Ramesh. Without even receiving their due amount, they gave clearance to the prints from the lab, and only after we brought the prints to our office did the theatre owners pay the amount,” reminisces Thanu.

But what prompted Thanu to re-release Sachein after 20 years, especially in a 4K remastered version with a 7.1 Dolby mix? Thanu, who previously re-released Aalavandhan and is working towards remastering Khakha Khakha and Kandukondain Kandukondain, says that he has been witnessing the demand for Sachein’s re-release over the years. “Many theatre owners have repeatedly requested me to rerelease Sachein, stating that there’s immense demand among fans. Moreover, my anti-piracy team has been continuously taking down pirated copies of Sachein; even last night, at 3 AM, an HD-quality print was uploaded, and we had to take it down. And by the time we take down a print, it’s getting over 10,000 views. That’s just amazing,” says Thanu, mentioning that over 9,500 tickets have been pre-booked for the Friday shows of Sachein in Rohini Silver Screens, Chennai. “I am shocked because even new films struggle to get such pre-release bookings.” The release isn’t restricted to Tamil Nadu. Thanu says the film is set to play at over 40 screens in France, 80 in the US, and over 300 theatres in Malaysia.

To some filmgoers, like 28-year-old Chennai-based engineer Madhesh R, this demand seems mindboggling. “Until a few years ago, I wasn’t aware that Sachein had such a fan following. I have seen fans calling it an underrated Vijay film, but the craze we are seeing online is surprising,” says Madhesh, who is eager to catch the re-release to decipher this phenomenon. But with Madhesh, we wonder if an average filmgoer would have ever seen Sachein as a film that could be revisited on the big screen.

“The demand is such because films like Sachein and Ghilli are films loved even by those who dislike Vijay’s other films,” explains Vicky. “You would find many who say, ‘I don’t usually watch Vijay’s films, but I liked Ghilli, Sachein, and Thuppakki.’ Even Vaseegara, which didn’t run well, would fall under this. I have never seen Sachein as a strictly fan-favourite film, but one for all moviegoers,” he believes.