Kollywood has seen several sports-based films like Vennila Kabaddi Kuzhu, Lee and Vallinam in recent years. Now, with Aivarattam comes the unusual sport of five-a-side football, all thanks to debut director Mithun Manickam. In a chat with City Express, the 28-year-old debutant reveals more.
“Five-a-side football is played by only five players. It has a smaller field and goalpost. It’s commonly played in India and abroad. But my film is based in Sivaganga that is famous for this sport,” says Mithun, who hails from the district. He’s a mechanical engineer, who gave up a lucrative job at Larsen and Toubro in Nagpur, to pursue his passion for cinema.
So, is this a film about the sport? “Not at all. I know it’s difficult to sustain a film just based on a sport. We need to keep viewers engaged in human drama as well. Aivarattam is about the emotional tug of war among five people in a small town. Two of them, Dushyanth and Niranjan, are part of the five-a-side football team. I played the sport a lot as a kid and wanted to showcase it for the world, so I integrated the game into the film,” adds the filmmaker, whose uncle has even constructed a five -a -side stadium in the area for the public. A special feature of the film will be the coming together of actor Jayaprakash and his two sons on screen. He explains, “I saw his younger son Dushyanth in Eesan and I went to his home, to cast him. There, I spotted Niranjan, whom I thought was apt for the hero. The brothers acted in Eesan earlier. But with Aivarattam, they’ll be seen with their father on screen.” Swaminathan, the grandson of Vikku Vinayakram, is debuting as music director. Producer C K Senthil Kumar plays one of the five leads, along with Amruth Kalam.
Dushyanth and Niranjan were trained in the game for two months before shooting.
“They shot with real player teams who are very passionate. So, they would forget it’s a shooting and they have to pass the ball to the actors. In that melee, the boys got injured severely but they never complained even once,” recalls Mithun.
Truckloads of villagers from his native place Vairavanpatti were brought to the shooting spot to can the 1,000-strong crowd scenes shot over 12 days.
