Actor Dinesh plays Sadaiyan in Athiyan Athirai's 'Thandakaaranyam'

Chennai, Sep 2 (IANS) The makers of director Athiyan Athirai's eagerly awaited film 'Thandakaaranyam', featuring actors Dinesh and Kalaiyarasan in the lead, on Tuesday disclosed the name of the character that actor Dinesh plays in the film.

Director Athiyan Athirai took to his X timeline to announce the character's name. He wrote, "Dinesh as Sadaiyan in from Sept 19.#Thandakaaranyam Teaser #ThandakaaranyamFromSept19 @beemji @officialneelam @LearnNteachprod @AthiraiAthiyan @pro_guna"

The director also posted a video clip of actor dinesh speaking on the film on his timeline.

Dinesh said, "This is a film that I am eagerly awaiting. It is releasing after my successful film, Lubber Pandhu. This is the second film of director Athiyan Athirai, whose first film was the critically acclaimed Irandam Ulaga Porin Kadaisi Gundu. Athiyan Athirai is a very serious film maker but he has whipped up something that will work commercially well in this film. It was very challenging for me when I heard it as a script. When I wondered how he could place this film commercially, he came up with a story that was evolved beautifully using forests."

A teaser which the unit released recently shows that the story of the film is told from a woman's perspective. A young woman living in a tribal hamlet on the fringes of a forest narrates a story. "Everytime a girl is born in this forest, along with her a root vegetable is also born. My grandmother Richiamma used to say that the man who finds that root vegetable and brings it to you is the one destined for you," she says. "The forest does not comprise of just trees and plants, it also included our love," she explains. "One day, my man made me stand under this tree and went in search of the root to present to me. He still hasn't returned."

From the visuals of the teaser, it is evident that the story narrated by the woman is just an allegory for a more intense story of oppression that is set in the forest lands. We realise that Kalaiyarasan plays a member of one of the uniformed services and that Dinesh plays a tribal leader in the film.

The film, which has been produced by director Pa Ranjith's Neelam productions in association with Learn and Teach production, will also feature actors Rithyvika, Vinsu Sam, Muthukumar, Aruldass and Saranya Ravichandran in important roles.

It may be recalled that the film has already been cleared by the Censor Board for release with an U/A certificate and is scheduled to hit screens on September 19.

Actor Shabeer Kallarakkal, who impressed with his performance as 'Dancing Rose' in the sports drama Sarpetta Parambarai, will be seen playing a pivotal role in this film, which will also feature comedian Bala Saravanan in a prominent role.

On the technical front, the film will have music by Justin Prabhakaran and cinematography by Pratheep Kaliraja. Editing for the film will be by Selva while art direction has been handled by Tha Ramalingam.

Sources close to the unit of the film say that shooting for the film took place completely in forests and in villages situated in mountains. This apart, sequences were also shot in hilly regions.

Needless to say, the film has triggered huge interest as director Athiyan Athirai's previous film, 'Irandam Ulaga Porin Kadaisi Gundu' (The Last Bomb of the Second World War) was a critical and commercial success.

'Irandam Ulaga Porin Kadaisi Gundu', which showcased how the working class in the informal sector was exploited by their owners, also highlighted beautifully the problems pertaining to caste and also touched upon the issue of honour killing. Interestingly, Attakathi Dinesh played the lead in this film too.

--IANS

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