Debut director Selvakannan’s Nedunalvaadai has opened to positive reviews, with an increase in the number of screens allocated for the second week. The team recently organised a thanks giving meet for the press in Chennai, inviting the film’s lyricist Vairamuthu as the chief guest.
Nedunalvaadai is a small budget movie, jointly produced by 50 of Selvakannan’s classmates. Poo Ramu, Mime Gopi, Elvis Alexander and Anjali Nair play the lead. The story centres around a man and his 70-year-old grandfather, and how things change after he falls in love.
The film was recently ranked as the best movie of the week by Pycker.com.
At yesterday’s press meet, director Selvakannan spoke at length about lyricist Vairamuthu’s contribution to the film. When he was later asked about the MeToo allegations against Vairamuthu, he said that the accusations did not make him a perpetrator.
In a conversation with Silverscreen, Selvakannan reiterated this. He said that Vairamuthu was one of the main reasons for the success of the movie, “He is the important person in the film, he has written the songs. If not for him, who else would we have invited?”
He said that if 150 press persons had turned up it for the meet it was because of Vairamuthu. “A week before release, this was an unknown film. It was only the songs, mainly ‘Karuvatheva’, which got a reach. The songs became the identity for the film.”
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He further added, “Don’t we say things like ‘Vijay’s Sarkar?’ Doesn’t every film have its brand? For this film Vairamuthu is the brand, the identity.” The movie’s actors or its story could only be appreciated after release, and it was the songs which gave the film a push, he said.
About the MeToo allegations against Vairamuthu, the director said that one could not generalise, and gave an example of an instance when an actress wrongly threatened to accuse him of sexual harassment. “We can’t say all men are wrong and all women are right. If you like Chinmayi you will support her, if I like Vairamuthu I will support him, isn’t that how it is?”
He further said that the women on his sets were safe because they were always accompanied by someone they knew, and there was no hierarchy among the team members. “The heroines always come with their mother, father or manager. Beyond that what safety can I ensure?”
Lyricist Vairamuthu, who has been working on several films, attending industry-related events, praised the film’s director at the event yesterday. He touched upon about the present state of Tamil films and its songs, and also spoke about the Pollachi sexual assault cases.