Mark Antony, the upcoming film starring Vishal and SJ Suryah in lead roles, is gearing up for a release on September 15. Produced by S. Vinod Kumar under Mini Studios, Mark Antony is directed by Adhik Ravichandran.
Speaking at a press interaction, Actor Vishal said, “This film will be released in South Indian languages, including Tamil, on September 15 and in Hindi on September 22 to celebrate Vinayaka Chaturthi. I have played two characters, namely Mark and Antony, in this film. For the first time, I have played dual roles. I have played the role of father, who is a gangster. Ritu Varma is paired opposite Mark and Abhinaya opposite Antony.”
On further detailing about the plot of the film, Vishal added, ” It has been developed as a science fiction time travel film. The film alternates between the 1970s and 1990s. But unlike a flashback, the year 1975 in one scene and 1995 in another will keep changing. It has been made in a way that is clearly understandable not only to the city crowd but also to the fans in the village of Kadakodi”.
Mentioning the technical front and behind the scenes, including the filming and music, Vishal said, “For the portion of the story set in the seventies, we’ve shown old Madras like the old LIC building, double-decker bus, etc. For this, we paid more attention to the set and graphics work. Almost 3000 graphics are included in it. Similarly, 99 per cent of the scenes are shot on the sets.”
“GV Prakash has composed the music for me after eight years and has given the required strength to the film with his music even before the release. Also, I get an experience with every film. But after 20 years, an event that surprised me happened in this film.”
Mark Antony also stars an ensemble cast, including Ritu Varma, Abhinaya, Sunil, Selvaraghavan, and Redin Kingsley. Vishal also took the opportunity to praise his co-actors, “In a scene where actor Sunil and I were acting, I only have one word to deliver. But he has four pages of lines. Whilst he was acting with different facial expressions like anger, pleading, sad and aggression, I was amazed without realizing it.
When the scene was over, I hugged him and congratulated him. His performance in this film will surely teach a lot to the actors who will come after him. I am saying it as an actor who came through the ‘koothupattarai’. Apart from that, SJ Suryah also sets a good tempo in every scene. I learned a lot of lessons from SJ Suryah for free when I was acting with him. I met SJ Surya for the first time as my college senior during the hostel selection. No matter how many problems he has faced over the years, he hasn’t changed till date”.
Vishal also reflected upon the release date the film has slated, “We decided the release date of the film a month and a half before. If it is a sports competition, it is interesting only if there are many players. Whatever film enters the field it has to face the competition. ‘Jawan’ is releasing only in Hindi, so we are releasing it in Hindi on September 22 after a week”.
Vishal concluded the conversation by hinting at his direction dreams, “I had an opportunity to act with Vijay in Leo. But as I am acting only in one film at a time, I couldn’t grab the opportunity for Leo. Then I told Lokesh, “You are lucky… you have got a good opportunity again use it again”. I am also preparing to direct a film with Vijay next”.
Following Vishal, actor SJ Suryah said, “The best part is, we shot a family film together as bachelors. Then, we were shooting a fight sequence for the climax scene. The lorry driver who was speeding towards us stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake. I noticed that. Vishal didn’t notice it. But as the crew screamed in shock after seeing this, he turned the vehicle towards the director’s seat. Fortunately, everyone escaped by jumping to the other side. Also, everyone wants to act, but Vishal wants to leave acting and go for direction”.