20 Years of Thala Ajith's Citizen: Five interesting facts about the film

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call Citizen a milestone in Thala Ajith's career. The action thriller directed by Saravana Subbiah and produced by CS Chakravarthy, hit screens in 2001 and featured Ajith in multiple get-ups. The film had an ensemble star cast including Meena, Vasundhara Das, Nagma, Nizhalgal Ravi, Pandiyan, Devan and Ajay Rathnam. Citizen ran to packed houses and became one of the most important films in Ajith’s career. Here are a few interesting facts about the film

Ajith might have done dual roles in films like Vaali, Asal and Billa but it was in Citizen that the actor had multiple get ups for the first time in his career. The actor had to put on weight for his character in the film which featured him in many get ups. However, he primarily portrayed a dual role in the film- Arivanandham and his father Subramani.

Sameera Reddy was supposed to play the leading lady in the film, but the actress is said to have opted out due to prior commitments. The role eventually went to Vasundhara Das, who had made her acting debut with Hey Ram in 2000. She also sang two songs in the film- I Like You and Pookara Pookara, both of which became chartbusters.

Citizen marked the directorial debut of actor Saravana Subbiah. He also made a cameo appearance in the film. After the success of Citizen, the duo of Subbiah and Ajith came together for another film titled Itihasam, which was said to revolve around caste issues. But, the film was shelved. Subbiah then went on to make ABCD and Meendum. As an actor, Subbiah has made an appearance in a number of films including Raavanan, Visaranai, Kaashmora, Velaikkaran and Goli Soda 2.

The scenes in the fictitious village of Athipatti, which goes missing from the map of Tamil Nadu in the film, was shot in Pulikat on the outskirts of Chennai. It is said that the team had to travel from the city and then take a boat to get there. Another scene in the film had many Ajith fans in attendance. This apart, a song was shot in Australia.

Music for the film was by composer Deva. The album comprised six songs including 'Merkey Vidaitha', 'Pookara Pookara', 'Chikkimukki Kallu' and 'I Like You'. The song ‘I Like You’ was inspired by the single ‘I Feel Lonely’ by the German singer Sasha for his debut studio album Dedicated To (1998). On the other hand, 'Pookara' sung by Vasundhara Das and Shankar Mahadevan, was inspired by the popular ABBA number ‘Take a Chance on me’.