Dharani interview on ‘Ghilli’ re-release: ‘Vijay was a boy then, he is a brand now’

Tamil actor Vijay’s ‘Ghilli’ re-releases after 20 years and is still a hit; director Dharani, producer AM Rathnam explain the craze for ‘Ghilli’, starring Vijay, Trisha and Prakash Raj

One of Chennai’s important landmarks is the Gemini flyover. Very close to this landmark is the Little Flower School for the Blind and the Deaf — which was the venue way back in 2004 for the audio cassette release of Tamil film Ghilli starring Vijay, Trisha and Prakash Raj.

It was here that the tunes of ‘Appadi Podu’ and ‘Arjunar Villu’ played for the first time, and subsequently, echoed in cinema halls when the film released to a rapturous reception in April 2004.

Cut to April 2024, these tunes are still playing as the film’s re-release has crowds thronging theatres, despite the IPL buzz. Why is a 20-year-old Tamil film still being celebrated? Director Dharani has the answers.

We last met 20 years ago and spoke about the same film, and here, we are, speaking about it yet again...

Dharani: When I heard about the re-release, I imagined that it would be a one-day celebration, like a Vidyasagar concert or an AR Rahman concert. I never imagined that it would become such a celebration. People in the theatres are literally completing the dialogues. I visited a theatre, in which a mother and daughter were enjoying the film; the eight-year-old daughter was watching it for the first time! The film and its content has remained alive till now, and I’m grateful to the media and fans for celebrating it that way.

Why do you think Ghilli, which has been played multiple times on television, is still being celebrated?

Dharani: I think it is because of the emotion behind the lead actor, who played a ‘good boy’, and for that, I am indebted to writer Gunasekar who helmed the Telugu original, Okkadu, which we remade as Ghilli. It has a naughty protagonist, who quarrels with his sister and has a strict father. All these aspects are very relatable to family audiences, then and now. Plus, all the actors in the film — Vijay, Trisha and Prakash Raj — are still very relevant today.