AR Rahman: Maamannan's theme has bothered me for years

The Maamannan cast and crew celebrated 50 days of theatrical run with a small event in Chennai, on Thursday. Speaking at the event, music composer AR Rahman revealed that the central conflict and theme that the film talks about is something that has been bothering him for almost 20 years now. 

On stage, he said, "The issues covered by Maamannan have been bothering me for almost 20 years now. I could not contribute to voicing against it with my music. So, I collaborated with a filmmaker like Mari Selvaraj who decided to voice it loudly."

Further, Rahman also revealed other reasons that drew him towards the film. "When Mari narrated the story to me, I had no idea that the film would turn out to be as beautiful as it is today. The film has ended up resembling art films made by my favourite filmmakers," he said adding that Vadivelu was one of the main reasons he chose to do the film. 

"I just saw one shot, a scene where Vadivelu look at Udhaynidhi when the latter rides a bike. That one look was so powerful, that it gave me the enthusiasm to put in extraordinary efforts for the film," he shared. 

Helmed by Mari Selvaraj, Maamannan stars Udayanidhi Stalin, Keerthy Suresh, Vadivelu and Fahadh Faasil in lead roles. The film hit theatres on June 29 and opened to favourable reviews. The film is now available to stream on Netflix.