Coming from director Shankar’s school, Mathivanan also wanted to follow his guru’s formula - film with a strong message — and the idea of terrorism and its impact on innocent lives struck him.
“Through ‘Aridhu Aridhu’, I’ve tried to convey that human life is precious and nobody is authorized to destroy it. The story travels from Chennai to Australia and New Zealand along with the protagonist, Harish Kalyan,” Mathivanan says.
About the music director, “I know Thaman right from ‘Boys’ days and his music suits this movie,” he adds. “All the songs are so catchy and foot-tapping that I was very eager to dance at least for a song. But the director said the character didn’t dance or sing,” continues Harish from where his director left. “Only after watching the film did I realize the depth of my character and I’m sure this will fetch me a good name,” smiles Harish, who made his debut with ‘Sindhu Samaveli’.
“The character is physically handicapped and only his body language and eye movements speak for him,” Harish offers a glimpse of his role in the movie. Along with breathtaking visuals and strong script, ‘Aridhu...’ also has a new female lead, Uttara. She is a Tamilian settled in New Zealand and a college student.
“The director found me during his location-hunt in New Zealand and it was not tough to face the camera, as I was already into modeling,” she says, who has won Miss India pageant conducted by New Zealand in 2008. She is well-trained in Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi, too.
“The film gave me the scope to dance as well as to act,” says Uttara. The film will hit screens on December 24.