It had been a long day for the Maiem team – the audio launch at Kamal Haasan’s residence in the morning, and now, the evening press meet. But nothing could dampen the enthusiasm of the young crew. Sporting customised Maiem t-shirts, they eagerly posed for the cameras, and seemed happy to chat with the media. The chief guests were K Balachander’s close associate Mohan, Andhra Mess director Jai, and director Parthiepan. Tipped to be a thriller, the story of the two-hour Maiem occurs in the span of a single day.
The event began with a screening of the audio launch video, the promo song, the trailer, and a song from the movie. During the audio launch video, Kamal Haasan spoke about the relationship between his residence, and close friends like Rajinikanth, RC Sakthi, K Balachander, and Mani Ratnam who all have shared history there.
Producer AP Sreedhar talked about the day when he told late director K Balachander about his plans to start his own production house: “KB sir told me that starting a production house means a lot of hard work and concentration. Afterwards, when I told him I was making a movie with talented college students, and that I had named the production house ‘Sketchbook Productions’, KB sir was appreciative of my thought process, and even came to the official launch of the production house. Now, he is no more. It saddens me that he isn’t here to watch the film.” Sreedhar also thanked Kamal Haasan for lending them the name of his e-magazine name (Maiem).
Mohan said that the director had always cherished AP Sreedhar’s company, “Talking to AP Sreedhar always give him peace of mind.” Mohan also said that Parthiepan’s Kathai Thiraikathai Vasanam Iyakkam was the last film that K Balachander had watched, even as he was on his death bed.
R Parthiepan introduced the lead actors in his own way. Once on stage, he refused to give away the floral bouquet presented to him, joking that keeping it on the podium would make him look good in the visuals.
The event concluded with director Aditya Baskar formally thanking AP Sreedhar and the entire team. He said he had never seen any shooting before Maiem and he was sure it would appeal to audiences.
