Award-winning filmmaker Vetrimaaran, an assistant to the legendary filmmaker Balu Mahendra, is elated beyond words as his film Visaranai becomes India's official pick for the Oscars 2017 in the Foreign Language Film Category.
He tells CE, "I am very happy that the movie has been chosen for such a prestigious honour."
In an earlier interview, actor Dhanush, who co-produced Visaranai had described that he was encouraged to support more creations, which would be accepted by the Tamil audience.
Visaranai, a 118-minute thriller, has been chosen out of 29 contenders, including Udta Punjab, Umrika, Thithi, Sairat, Neerja, Dhanak, and Nil Battey Sannata, said secretary-general of Film Federation of India, Supran Sen.
Vetrimaaran debuted with Polladhavan (2007) starring Dhanush, and returned with Aadukalam after four years, and the film had won six National Awards.
The movie is inspired by a book written by Chandrakumar, an auto-driver by profession. The book recounts his terrible experience when he was arrested by the Andhra Pradesh police when he was just 17.
Visaranai deals with the issues of corruption and custodial violence in the police force, starring Attakathi Dinesh in the lead role.
Watch Visaranai Trailer: