Arun Vijay: Tamil Rockerz will convey the pain and emotions of filmmakers 

We had previously reported that director Arivazhagan and Arun Vijay are making their OTT debut with Tamil Rockerz, marking their third collaboration after Kuttram 23 and the yet-to-be-released Borrder. Interestingly, the series, also starring Vani Bhojan and Iswarya Menon, marks the small screen debut of the legendary productional banner AVM Productions. 

Speaking about his web series debut, Arivazhagan said, "Change is the only constant and today, web series help in delivering what we wanted in a straightforward manner. The reach is also more when compared to films. I have to thank AVM Productions and SonyLIV for this. "When the producers approached me with the writers, I wanted to do this series because of the piracy site Tamil Rockers and the way they have affected our industry. We wanted this series to also change the mentality of the people to avoid such piracy sites." 

While talking about his collaboration with Arun Vijay, he said, "It's because of the belief we have in each other and considering it's a series, that belief actually gave me more responsibilities. This is a series with a purpose and I'm sure it'll reach the masses."

Aruna Guhan, head of AVM Production said, "This series will talk about the emotional hardship of the makers of films and how difficult it is for us to safeguard the films we make. We have researched for years on this topic, how it affects the industry and the repercussions of someone buying a CD for Rs 50. Our only option has been Arivazhagan sir and we waited two years for this to happen. He's a producer's director and I'm looking forward to working with him again." 

The series is edited by National Award-winning editor Sabu Joseph who said, "I'm here today because of Arivazhagan sir. I've earlier worked as an assistant in AVM's films like Perazhagan and I'm glad that I've gotten to work with the banner now. This series will talk about the pain of our industry." Art director Saravanan, who praised the filmmaker, said, "I've worked as an assistant in Eeram and I've seen sir's hard work in it. I have seen him throw beads of water over a tile and see the magic with the way it was captured in the film. I have always wanted to work with him since then. Glad I got the opportunity to do it with Tamil Rockerz."

Arun Vijay, who spoke later, told about what intrigued him to make his OTT debut. "It's the concept that we wanted to get across and this is my third collaboration with Arivazhagan sir who knows my strengths. Appa had done many projects with AVM Productions and I am happy to finally work with them. The series has a lot of content and characters. This format also gave us the space to explore various aspects," said Arun Vijay. "We wanted to convey the pain and emotions of those behind the camera and how they can be erased in a moment because of piracy, A lot of research went into this project. Given the seriousness of the project, we had to keep the sets light and we had a blast with the cast and crew. Despite double call sheets, it was this camaraderie that helped."

Vani Bhojan, who spoke next, said, "This is a story that has to be told. There are a lot of technicalities involved and that's new to me. Director sir patiently helped me get into the skin of the character." Iswarya Menon said, "The way director Arivazhagan sir works is fascinating. It was wonderful working with an intense performer like Arun Vijay sir. I loved the script and I'm waiting for it to stream."

The series will stream on SonyLIV from August 19.