Director Kulandai Velappan, who made his debut with Aanmai Thavarel is back with Yaakkai after a gap of six years. Yaakkai is a romantic thriller starring Krishna, Swathi Reddy, Prakash Raj and Guru Somasundaram in prominent roles. The film is gearing up for a grand release on March 3 alongside Arivazhagan’s Kuttram 23.
Speaking to DC, Velappan says, “When I finished the script of Yaakkai, I had the challenge of blending two genres — a love story and a crime-thriller. Love plays a major role in everyone’s life and how it loses its importance in today’s world is being handled in the movie. Cinema, being a mass medium, I want to incorporate infotainment in my scripts.”
The director revealed that all the actors he approached for the movie agreed at once to be part of the project. “Prakash Raj plays an unruly cop and as soon as I finished narrating the script, he agreed to be a part of the flick. For the female lead, I envisioned Swathi. She was perfect and so was Krishna, who brought in so much positivity. Guru Somasundaram plays the antagonist and he was apprehensive whether his performance was at par with Prakash Raj.
The outcome was exceptional and the film was elevated by Yuvan’s BGM,” he adds. Talking about his favourite scene in the film, Velappan shares, “We shot a crucial scene in the hills of Kothagiri. It was challenging as we had to cross three hills to reach the place where we shot. It is our favourite scene.”
