VELLORE: If all goes as planned, Rajiv Gandhi assassination case lifer A G Perarivalan aka Arivu will be featured by National Award winning director S P Jananathan in a movie touching upon the issue of death penalty, which he is planning in the near future.
The Porampokku Engira Pothuvudamai fame director, who was accompanied by Arivu’s mother Arputhammal to the Vellore Central Prison for Men on Thursday where he met the convict, said that Arivu would be starred in the movie if he was interested.
A telephone conversation a week ago between Arivu and Jananathan about the movie had eventually led to Thursday’s meeting. Though he had dealt with capital punishment in Porampokku Engira Pothuvudamai starring actors Arya and Vijay Sethupathy, this meeting with Arivu had kindled interest in him to do a movie on similar lines, the director claimed.
“There are many untold stories behind the walls of prisons,” he pointed out.
“Arivu was impressed by the movie. He had heard the story from prison personnel and his mother, and had also read movie reviews in the newspapers. Though he hasn’t watched a single scene of the movie, he can recite the dialogues well,” said the director.
“Arivu told me that the movie has created an impact on society and also changed the mindset of many about capital punishment,” said the director. Had the movie been released two years ago, it could have bettered his chances of release, Arivu is said to have told Jananathan.
The director regretted that he could have put in more effort into the movie had he known that it would have created such an impact.
Meanwhile, Arputhammal said that her son was confident of winning his freedom soon. “He is having supreme faith in the judiciary. When I enquired him about his health, he said he was feeling much better now,” said Arputhammal.