'Kochadaiiyaan' tribute to Rajini's illustrious career: Daughter

Soundarya, daughter of superstar Rajinikanth, Sunday said that her directorial debut "Kochadaiiyaan" is a tribute to her father.

In a touching speech at the audio launch of the film, Soundarya thanked her father for giving her the opportunity to direct him.

"Dad, thank you a million times for being so patient, supportive and encouraging. You were the rock I needed by my side. The film has come to life because of you. We are all here only for you. This film is my tribute to your illustrious career," Soundarya told reporters here.

"This is a humble attempt for me to present you on stage how everybody wants to see you. I'm your biggest fan and I have this opportunity to say it in front of your fans. Thank you very much," she added.

The trailer of "Kochadaiiyaan" along with the making-of-the-film video was screened at the event, which was attended by fans and big names from the filmdom. Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was the chief guest.

"Kochadaiiyaan", a Tamil period-drama, which has been in the making for nearly two years, is touted to be India's first performance capture photo-realistic technology 3D animated film.

It is slated to release April 11.

Soundarya said that the film took so long because they wanted to make technologically the best film.

"This is a first attempt. All first efforts will be challenging. Since the process in this technology is very long, we had to pay attention to every minute detail to master the technology. From a leaf to bird to even dust, we spent a lot of time to bring everything to perfection," she said.

"It's because fans want to see our superstar in a different avatar, I have taken so much of time and effort to make the film. So we need your support and blessing for our effort to bring motion capture technology to India," said Soundarya.

Deepika Padukone, who plays the female lead in "Kochadaiiyaan", was also present along with the rest of the film's cast.

Rajinikanth's entire family - wife Latha, daughters Soundarya and Aishwarya, sons-in-law Dhanush and Ashwin were present at the event.

Doyens of Tamil cinema such as Shankar, K. Balachander, K.S. Ravikumar, S.P. Muthuraman, and AVM Saravanan were also present at the audio launch.

Double Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman, who has composed music for the film, was also present on the occasion along with lyricist Vairamuthu and sound designer Resul Pookutty.