Cannes Film Festival 2018: Dhanush-starrer The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir likely to get India release in July

Dhanush’s English-French language film  The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir  has been titled Vaazhkaiya Thedi Naanum Ponen in Tamil. The Aadukalam actor, who made his Cannes debut this year to showcase his international project, unveiled the film’s posters at the esteemed festival which kicked off on 8 May with the premiere of Oscar-winning Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi’s  Everybody Knows.   [caption id=“attachment_4471457” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Dhanush’s maiden Hollywood film’s poster was unveiled at Cannes Film Festival 2018[/caption] “I’ve worked in a different kind of industry in India, and I’m used to a specific method. So, I had my own doubts and concerns before signing my first international project. Then I happened to meet my director Ken Scott, who guided me through the process completely and helped me with a lot of patience. He adjusted to my methods in the acting process and also put up with my tantrums (smiles),” said Dhanush during an interaction at India Pavillion , which was inaugurated by a special Indian delegation on 11 May to explore co-production opportunities with France and to showcase the rich diversity of films from India. “All over the world, emotions are universal. So after I understood my character and its traits, I was ready to shoot. I’ve always wanted to work in an international production mainly to know how the industry operates there and how different it is from ours. The immense effort that goes into the pre-production has what made the shooting process easier. Fakir has been a great learning experience for me,” added Dhanush. Based on French author Romain Puértolas’ best-selling 2014 French novel, The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir Who Got Trapped in an Ikea Wardrobe, the Indo-French co-production is directed by Canadian filmmaker Ken Scott. Luc Bossi, best known for co-writing the French romance tragedy Mood Indigo, has written the film along with Romain Puértolas. Little Red Car Films, the production house which represents the film from India, has revealed that they are planning the Indian release in July. The makers are targeting a simultaneous release in Tamil, English and Hindi languages in India, as we  reported  earlier. While Nicolas Errera has composed the film’s music, Bollywood composer Amit Trivedi has also contributed three tracks to the project. The movie is slated to release in France and Belgium on 30 May, followed by Russia on 13 June and Germany on 16 August. Sony Pictures International Productions will release the film in France and the UK. While the makers have already sold the film’s international rights to Japan, Brunei, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, Singapore, Russia, Israel, Ukraine, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Spain, they are now hoping to land deals in some hitherto-unknown territories by showcasing the project in the Cannes Film Market. Co-starring Dhanush in the film will be Oscar-nominated actors Bérénice Bejo (The Artist) and Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips), Erin Moriarty of Netflix series _Jessica Jones-_fame. Abel Jafri, best known for his work in the Academy Award-nominated 2014 film Timbuktu, is also part of the supporting cast of the film which has been shot in Mumbai, Jodhpur, Rome, Paris, Casablanca, and Belgium by lensman Vincent Mathias. The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir features Dhanush in the lead role of a street-smart magician Ajatashatru, who embarks on an adventurous journey in Europe. During the interaction in India Pavillion, Dhanush has also revealed that he has received various queries for National Award-winning director Vetrimaaran’s gangster drama  Vada Chennai , which the actor has co-produced with Rajinikanth's _2.0_ makers Lyca Productions. Dhanush is currently gearing up for the release of his high-budget production  Kaala  on 7 June. The film stars Dhanush’s father-in-law Rajinikanth in the titular role and reunites director Pa Ranjith and Superstar for the second consecutive time after Kabali.  While he has a few more days of shooting left to complete Gautham Menon’s romantic thriller  Enai Nokki Paayum Thota , his Vada Chennai is currently in the post-production phase. After coming back to India, Dhanush will resume shooting for Balaji Mohan’s  Maari 2  before moving on to helm his yet-untitled sophomore directorial bankrolled by Mersal producer Thenandal Studios. Dhanush also has a gangster-action film with director Karthik Subbaraj which will start rolling after the Mercury director completes his next project with Rajinikanth and Sun Pictures. (Also read — Cannes Film Festival 2018: BlacKkKlansman director Spike Lee criticises Donald Trump for white supermacism)