Gearing up for his directorial venture, Appa, releasing on 1 July, actor-director Samuthirakani held a small press meet at his office to discuss the film. He clarifies in the beginning that the film is not about just one father, but four of them. As different as chalk and cheese, the four fathers have no connection with each other apart from the fact that their children go to the same school.
Known for delving into social issues in many of his films, Samuthirakani says that his Appa is not preachy but is an attempt to touch upon other issues. Speaking candidly about the story, he mentions how pressure from parents to ‘score high marks’ and ‘excel’, affects children these days, even more than it used to earlier.
“The problem is, nobody asks what’s hurting them. Nobody spares five minutes to speak to the children about what’s worrying them,” he says, highlighting with an example from April this year. A class twelve student had committed suicide by jumping off the fourth floor of Vijaya Forum Mall in Chennai.
Playing the role of one of the fathers in the film, Samuthirakani draws many experiences from his own life. The film essentially focuses on five children and their relationships with their fathers. While one of the children does not have a father, Samuthirakani states that he even tries to bring out the absence of a father in a child’s life.
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Interestingly, the music for the film was composed by maestro Ilaiyaraaja only after he watched the dubbed rough version of the film. “He really liked it and it was only after watching it did he compose the music for the film and scenes,” says the actor-director.
Meanwhile, he has finished shooting for Oppam, a Malayalam film starring Mohanlal. With his film Amma Kanakku released this week, Samuthirakani will soon team up with actor Dhanush again for their film Vada Chennai, two years after Velai Illa Pattadhari (2014).