For the first time ever, a full-fledged martial arts film is being made in Tamil. Interestingly, its lead actors are all children.
What's more, five of the six children who play the lead in this film, titled Ezhumin, are real-life martial arts champions.
Made by debut director VP Viji, the film has been garnering attention ever since the team released its first trailer.
"I am a building promoter who has dreamt of directing a film for the last 10 years. I wanted to make a film that can be watched by the entire family. When I was wondering what I should pick as the subject of my film, my attention was drawn to the field of sports and the politics in it. That is because my 12-year-old son is a kickboxer. I began realising that there was politics in sports and how it was affecting the morale of small children. I decided to make a film that will inspire youngsters and at the same time, bring out the politics in sports. My film will also underline the need to teach self-defence to kids as it can give them a world of confidence," said Viji.
Giving details of the six kids who have played the lead in the film, along with actor Vivekh and actress Devayani, he says, "Krithika is a National Champion in Silambam. She is in the ninth standard. Praveen, who has just completed his 12th standard, is a state champion in Kung Fu. Sreejith, who is in his 10th standard, is a state champion in Karate. Vineeth, a sixth standard student, is a district champion in kickboxing. Deepika, who is also in sixth standard, is a district champion in gymnastics. We have showcased her as a sword fighter in the film. Finally, Sukesh, an eighth standard student, was trained in boxing to play a boxer in the film. He plays Vivekh's son in the film."
The children, the director says, were selected through auditions that were held at AVM. "Around 625 kids turned up for the auditions. Off these, we picked just six children who we thought would fit the roles. We then held a 20-day acting course for the children," he says and informs that the film was shot in a span of just 38 days.
"We have completed the film. What is important is that of the 38 days that we shot the film, 22 days were for shooting just the fight sequences.The film will have exceptional action sequences. We are planning to release the film in July or August," the director informed.