Makers of Thalapathy 63 spend Rs6 crore on football stadium set in Chennai’s EVP Studios

Vijay and director Atlee – best known for films such as Theri (2016) and Mersal (2017) – have joined hands for the third time for a project currently dubbed as Thalapathy 63. Tipped to be a sports drama, the film features Vijay in the role of a football coach.

The industry grapevine is that the film’s makers have erected a football set worth Rs6 crore to shoot crucial portions of the film.

“The set has been built in Chennai’s EVP Studios. The team plans to shoot for 50 days non-stop in this football stadium set. Initially, the plan was to shoot in a real stadium but it wasn’t cost effective. Hence, the makers decided to build a set. The entire climax portion and some more crucial scenes will be shot in the stadium set,” a source from the unit said.

Last December, a formal pooja was organized to mark the beginning of the film’s regular shoot in Chennai.

Being produced by AGS Entertainment, the film has been confirmed to hit the screens during Diwali this year.

The film also stars Nayanthara, Jackie Shroff, Kathir, Yogi Babu and Vivek. Daniel Balaji, usually seen playing negative roles, has also been roped in for a crucial role.

The film has music by AR Rahman. Recently, he confirmed in an interview that the yet-untitled film will be sports-based.

“I have done this genre in Hollywood, but this would be the first time in south India. Atlee is a fan of my films like Lagaan (2001) and Pele: Birth of a Legend (2016). He’s heard these soundtracks and he is musically very passionate. I enjoy working with such director who gets involved in music composing,” Rahman said.