Ensured Akkenam’s making quality not compromised, says Arun Pandian
The team of Akkenam—Arun Pandian, Keerthi Pandian, director Uday K and music composer Barath Veeraraghavan visited the DT Next office to talk about the much-anticipated film. They take us through how the project fell in place and what the audience has in store upon its release on July 4
Barath Veeraraghavan, Arun Pandian and Uday K; Keerthi Pandian (Credits: Hemanathan M)
CHENNAI: The first question veteran actor-producer Arun Pandian asks as he walks into our office with his daughter Keerthi Pandian to promote Akkenam was, “Did you watch the trailer and how did you like it?”
As we tell him about how well the trailer was stitched together, he begins, “When the story came to me it was fresh and something that we hadn’t seen before. So, we sat down and developed the story into a screenplay, where the process became more interesting. Then, we set out to shoot the film across Chennai, Puducherry and Bhubaneshwar. We ended up being a close-knit unit and you could see that in the output once the film releases,” adds Arun Pandian.
As he explains we could see Keerthi smiling quietly on the other side.
“When I get interesting stories, I put them together. That includes finding the ‘right’ producer as well. One day, appa asked me what am I working on currently and I told him about Akkenam. The first thing I keep in mind is to not mount all projects I do for home production. But when appa got intrigued, I asked Uday to meet him for a narration,” says Keerthi.
Uday starts off with the title before delving into more details.
“Akkenam is the Aayutha Ezhuthu in Tamil letters. So the story takes place between three central characters and how they are connected to one another. I met Arun Pandian sir with the script and he liked it. We were also looking for cast members and I saw him fit for a character called Pandian that I had written,” he says with a smile.
“I asked him if he is roping me in because I am producing the film. But when I was there on sets, I could in a way relate to the character and the impact it has in the story. As a producer, I understood the importance and the relevance the story has. Hence, we did not compromise anywhere on the budget too. I gave the boys what they wanted to enhance the narrative,” says Arun Pandian.
Music director Barath immediately seconds his producer and remarks, “Being a debut music composer, he in fact gave me the freedom to arrange an European orchestra. He has produced and distributed several films, so he knows what would work and what wouldn’t for the film. Working with huge names in the first film is a blessing and that happened because of him.”
Keerthi says her character of Indra will be an addition to good roles that she has signed previously.
“Thumba, Anbirkiniyal and Blue Star were all different from one another and yet they all gave me a good recognition. My role of Indra in Akkenam too will be significant in my career. Also, I had the opportunity to perform stunts in the film and the audience will get to watch that on July 4,” she states.
