Neelima Esai to headline Karuppankaatu Valasu

After directing multiple short stories, a YouTube mini-series, and a web series, director Selvendran is making his feature film debut with Karuppankaatu Valasu that's releasing this Friday. The film, starring Neelima Esai in the lead, is a village drama that touches upon various topics.

Speaking about the film, director Selvendran says, "Karuppankaatu Valasu is about an underprivileged village that's made better because of the efforts of their panchayat head's daughter Gandhimathi (played by Neelima). Thanks to her, it becomes a modern village with all the basic amenities in check - right from garbage disposal and toilets to revamped government schools. When everything seems to be well, a few murders take place, shocking everyone in the village. Who did it, what's the reason, and how they're brought to justice forms the rest of the story."

Selvendran feels that the tonal shift in the screenplay will be something new to Tamil cinema. "It's a new attempt when it comes to the screenplay, and the second half of the film will have a non-linear approach," he says. The director had zeroed in on Neelima the moment he met her. Maari George, who is known for comical roles will be playing a serious cop in this film, and the rest of the cast is filled with newbies such as Ebenezer, Gowrishankar, Tony, Durai, and Selvaraj.

Selvendran, who has never assisted a director before, was a working professional in Dubai, who left his job to pursue his dreams of becoming a filmmaker. "When working abroad, I would come down to India once a year and every time I did, I would do a short film. After I returned in 2018, I did a web series that's yet to be released. The producer of Karuppankaatu Valasu saw that, and signed me up for this film."

Post the film's release, Selvendran will release his next short film named The Ledgerian Soliloquy. The short won a special mention in International festivals such as London, Rome, and Mumbai.