On
the
auspicious
occasion
of
Ganesh
Jayanti,
Eros
International's
Haathi
Mere
Saathi
introduces
us
to
the
dynamic
megastar,
Unni
the
elephant.
We've
often
heard
myriad
tales
of
Bollywood
stars
and
their
exotic
lives
on
and
offsets.
But
here
is
Unni,
the
lead
elephant
from
Haathi
Mere
Saathi
starring
Rana
Daggubati,
who
lives
a
life
even
more
exotic
than
our
B-town
celebs.
During
the
shoot
of
HMS,
Unni
proved
to
be
the
biggest
celebrity
on
the
set.
Prabu
Solomon,
the
National
award-winning
director
shares
how
he
met
Unni.
Says
he,
"A
few
years
ago,
I
needed
a
lead
elephant
and
we
auditioned
more
than
30
to
40
elephants
across
the
length
and
breadth
of
Kerala.
There
I
found
Unni.
He
is
very
friendly,
emotional,
obedient
and
intellegent.
I
worked
with
Unni
in
Kumki
and
because
he
was
so
good,
I
casted
him
in
Kumki
2
as
well.
Once
again,
I've
chosen
him
for
Haathi
Mere
Saathi
for
his
exceptional
skills
and
friendly
behaviour."
Prabu
further
shares,
"In
India
there
are
only
4
or
5
elephants
with
AWBI
(Animal
Welfare
Board
Of
India)
license.
So
you
can't
shoot
with
all
the
elephants
in
Kerala.
So
among
those
4
elephants,
Unni
was
the
busiest
one.
He's
taken
to
festivals,
he's
busy
with
ad
and
film
shoots.
So
we
had
to
take
Unni's
dates
first
and
accordingly
schedule
the
artists'
dates.
On
the
sets
too,
there
were
more
protocols
in
place
for
Unni
than
any
other
actor.
According
to
AWBI,
we
had
to
shoot
with
Unni
in
soft
light
in
the
mornings.
We
couldn't
use
top
lights
for
him.
So
we
gave
him
rest
in
the
afternoon.
And
evenings,
when
the
sunlight
is
no
more
harsh,
we
used
to
take
him
out.
So,
all
the
stars
would
be
waiting
for
Unni
to
arrive
on
the
set."
Well,
Unni
does
deserve
special
treatment
as
he
has
unique
qualities.
Shares
a
source,
"Unni
is
the
only
animal
who
has
an
acting
certificate.
He
understands
director's
instructions
like
'action',
'cut'
and
follows
everything
to
the
tee,
performing
like
a
thespian."
Informs
Prabu,
"Unni
followed
instructions
perfectly.
Often,
he
would
come
and
stand
where
the
markings
were
made
for
him
to
stand,
he
was
that
intelligent.
If
we
wanted
him
to
move
a
few
inches
behind,
he'd
do
exactly
that.
Unni
is
very
special
to
me."
A
content
director
further
shares,
"He
was
friendly
with
the
entire
crew,
everyone
from
the
crew
could
easily
access
and
communicate
with
Unni.
Many
elephants
don't
allow
it.
They
don't
accept
food
from
everyone
or
allow
everyone
near
them.
But
Unni
was
different.
He
was
one
among
our
technicians." What's
more,
Unni
has
shot
for
many
films
and
ad
campaigns
before
Haathi
Mere
Saathi.
Interestingly,
Unni
had
his
own
routine
that
he
followed
particularly
during
shoots.
He
would
shoot
for
a
stipulated
3
hours
per
day.
Informs
the
source,
"Unni
arrived
at
a
particular
time
on
the
set.
He
took
a
bath
at
a
nearby
pond.
Then
he
got
ready
for
the
shots.
After
giving
his
shots,
Unni
ate
in
between
at
his
scheduled
timings.
At
a
given
time
post
lunch,
he
also
took
a
nap.
The
entire
cast
had
to
wait
until
Unni
was
well-rested
between
shots
and
was
comfortable
to
resume
shoot.
Everyone
on
the
sets
made
sure
that
Unni's
routine
wasn't
disturbed
and
even
the
actor's
worked
around
his
schedule."
Well,
Unni
was
surely
an
elite
member
of
the
cast
and
even
the
actors
like
Rana
and
others,
bonded
well
with
Unni
according
to
the
source.
The
source
also
also
shared,
"They'd
feed
him
jaggery,
which
is
Unni's
most
favourite
food.
Unni
ate
so
much
jaggery
that
there
would
be
a
point
when
he'd
had
to
be
stopped
for
the
fear
of
falling
ill.
Unni
was
pampered
by
all
his
co-stars
and
how!"
Explains
Prabu,
"Unni
would
eat
more
than
200
to
300
kilos
of
food
and
he'd
need
around
150
to
200
litres
of
water
each
day.
Everything
used
to
be
ready
so
that
whenever
he
needed
food
or
water,
we
could
give
him
immediately.
Whether
we
got
food
or
not,
Unni
was
properly
catered
to
and
looked
after."
That
sure
sounds
like
having
the
biggest
celebrity
on
your
set
with
a
massive
entourage.
Smiles
the
director
saying,
"Unni
was
the
biggest
star
on
the
set.
Truly!" With
all
that
we've
heard
about
Unni
and
his
ways,
there's
no
doubt
that
Unni
has
been
the
biggest
star
on
the
sets
of
Haathi
Mere
Saathi
and
we
can't
wait
to
watch
this
gifted
one
on
the
big
screen
on
26th
March!
Eros
International’s
upcoming
Haathi
Mere
Saathi
featuring
Rana
Daggubati,
Pulkit
Samrat,
Vishnu
Vishal,
Zoya
Hussein
and
Kalki
Koechlin
is
set
to
release
on
26th
March.
The
trilingual
is
titled
Kaadan
in
Tamil
and
Aranya
in
Telugu.