‘Vetrivel’ is a dream come true

A fifteen-year struggle to break into the film industry is finally going to pay off.

Director Vasanthamani is ready with his first film, Vetrivel, featuring none other than the talented director-actor Sasikumar in the lead.

Set in rural India, this is a story of two brothers, played by Sasikumar and Anant Nag, who is making his Tamil cinema debut.

Sasikumar plays the title role, Vetrivel, who manages an agricultural products store. He is paired opposite Malayalam actress Mia George, who plays Janani, an officer in the government’s agricultural department. Nag plays Malar, Vetrivel’s younger brother.

Trouble brews when Malar falls in love with the daughter of the village panchayat (council) president.

“When Vetrivel assists his brother in the love affair, he finds himself in an unwarranted situation,” says Vasanathamani.

Vasanathamani, a commerce graduate, is a poet and has won laurels for writing since his school days. Keen on making films, he arrived in Chennai in the late nineties but was disillusioned and came to Dubai in search of work.

“But I was not happy there, my heart lay in films and I returned to Chennai again,” he said. Vetrivel is Vasanthamani’s dream come true. So what was it like for a first-time director to direct Sasikumar? “Once on the sets, he left behind his director status and surrendered to me as an actor. I appreciate him for not interfering in my work,” he added.

Vetrivel, produced by Trident Arts, releases in the UAE today.