Sneak preview for Tamil film fans from location shooting of Thaandavam.
On location in London filming Thaandavam – Amy Jackson, director AL Vijay and Vikram.
It may not be as lavish as Cleopatra – but there they are – Manx-born Amy Jackson on a Thames-side bench with Tamil star Vikram. That’s film director AL Vijay in the middle, speaking quietly to them. (He always speaks quietly.)
If you look very very carefully, you might be able to tell that Amy has brown contact lens in, to make her look more Indian. She’s playing Vikram’s half-British half-Indian love interest.
They were filming a song sequence for this Tamil version of The Bourne Identity – Murder! Vengeance! Action! Singing! Dancing!
Okay – I’ll admit it. This particular scene doesn’t look so exciting. Lots of sitting around. Hanging around. Lying around. waiting around for something to happen. Getting in the way of riverside joggers. And troops of French schoolchildren.
Oh the glamour of it all!
But what you don’t know is that Vikram’s stick is really a sniper’s rifle and that Amy has a Kalashnikov propped up behind the bench. Any minute now it’s all going to kick off. Big time. (Probably. I had to nip off before they let rip.)
I’ve now scored my hat trick in meeting Tamil film stars. But neither Amy Jackson nor Vikram can compare to my first and untoppable encounter with the Queen of Tamil stage and screen – Padmini Natarajan. You’ll find her here.
Blackwatertown 
fun post; you get around don’t you! glad of it.
I have moments.
Clearly all of the hand-wrenching, heart-pounding, fast-paced action took place just moments after you’d left 🙂
The cyclist pulls out a bazooka and the bench bursts into flames. But shhh! Don’t tell anyone and spoil the surprise.
Mum’s the word…
In Tamizh we say “Doesn’t this look to yourself a bit ‘over'”…..that’s what my husband said when I read this out to him.
Thanks so much for the plug. You have not said anything about how they interacted with you! What was your impression of an Indian ‘fillum star’ as compared to your encounters with their British/Irish counterparts?
Will surely get you a DVD when the film is out….they didn’t ask you to appear in a scene? Such a handsome guy like you (there compliments returned!).
Would love to see the film when it comes out.
As for interaction – mixed – but only to be expected with film crews I think. Some friendliness. Some unfriendliness. A lot of bored crew.
Their logistics left something to be desired, which may have been trying their patience. (Though, to be fair, I’m not aware of what hurdles were being overcome by them behind the scenes – and they did seem to have secured good access to photogenic sites.)
Even though we’d been invited and had cleared everything in advance, I still had to overcome some awkwardness. I think the real tensions had nothing to do with our presence and more to with… But maybe best to interrupt myself there.
Amy could certainly turn on the charm to visitors like myself.
I wondered what you were up to!
So did I!
Wow! You are going places BWT. The next thing we will hear is that you are acting in an Indian film and cavorting around benches with buxom Indian lasses.
I think of little else.
Where can I get one of those walking sticks? I am going hill-walking soon and, with one of those I could live off the fat of the land.
I think Cyril Cusack makes them somewhere in Italy. Not sure if he’s still trading though. One of my neighbours may know.
I’m fine spending time looking more closely at Amy. I’m using the brown contacts as an excuse.
I wonder where will be first to claim her – Isle of Man or Liverpool (where she grew up).
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