Yennai Arindhaal Press Meet Report

Silverscreen goes to the Yennai Arindhaal Press Meet in Chennai.

Director Gautham Vasudev Menon met the press in the city yesterday to talk about his upcoming Yennai Arindhaal starring Ajith Kumar. He was accompanied by Aishwarya and AM Rathnam, the producers of the movie. In keeping with the sentiments of Rathnam – a known Sai Baba devotee – the meet was held at a mandir in Valasarawakkam.

After waiting for about an hour, we were ushered into a room that for some unknown reason is filled with gym equipment. We found ourselves a comfortable perch (on what looked like a bench press), waiting for Gautham Menon arrive. He walked in a few minutes later, accompanied by Aishwarya and AM Rathnam.

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Like a man on a mission, Gautham went about systematically shooting down many of the more popular rumours about Yennai Arindhaal. No, I did not shoot two climaxes for Yennai Arindhaal. I don’t have any problems with Ajith. I did not consider Aravind Swami for a role in the project. 

He continued on in this vein, till AM Rathnam decided to step in. He declared that was very happy with the way the film had turned out and also appreciated the whole team for their hard work and dedication.  “Gautham wrote the script only after Ajith sir got onboard the project. There was a tremendous amount of pressure at the time. Despite it all, they’ve come out with a good product!”

The usually unruffled Gautham admitted that the extraordinary hype surrounding the project ‘overwhelmed’ him. “I know that the movie has a huge reach on social media platforms and that fans expect a lot from this film of mine. I may look like I’m handling it well but to be honest I’m quite nervous. After the release, I will go off somewhere. Rathnam Sir will handle the aftermath!” he joked.

On a more serious note, the director revealed that the film is a ‘character driven’ story and was developed with the help of ace directors Thiagarajan Kumararaja and  Sridhar Raghavan. “I like both of them as filmmakers. They gave me their inputs on the rough drafts of the story and helped me make the plot better. That’s why I’ve given them credit in the movie.”

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The U/A certificate given by the Central Board of Film Certification for the film also did not sit well with Gautham Menon. “We’re appealing (the certification) as I feel that the film doesn’t have any of the elements that warrant a U/A tag. That being said, I want to re-iterate the fact that Yennai Arindhaal is an emotional thriller which is suitable for children. Women especially will love it.”

Producer Aishwarya too rushed in to support Gautham’s statement. “Every little girl will want a father like Sathyadev after watching the movie. There is a strong emotional track between Ajith sir and baby Anikha in the film.”

Harris Jayaraj also came in for a lot of praise for the ‘great music’ that he’s given for the project. “AM Rathnam Sir and Ajith sir were insistent that we get Harris for the music. I believe that he’s done a brilliant job on the musical score for this one” said Gautham.

The possibility of a sequel to Yennai Arindhaal was also discussed. “We still haven’t made a decision yet on that one. We will wait to see the kind of reception that this movie gets before taking a call on the sequel. Most importantly, Ajith sir has to be comfortable with the idea.”

The film will deal with the growth of Sathyadev’s character and will showcase the emotional journey of a a person from his twelfth year till his forties. “For instance, Ajith sir’s character meets a dancerwoman (Trisha) and later, a techie (Anushka). Both these characters define his journey in a way. That being said, I haven’t consciously tried to give out a social message with this movie.”

Yennai Arindhaal is set to release on February 5. The film has Ajith Kumar in the role of a cop, with Anushka, Trisha Krishnan and Vivekh in important roles.

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