At the pre-release event of Youth, Ken Karunaas' directorial debut, which he also headlines, director Vetri Maaran spoke highly in praise of the actor, recalling his days working with him on the sets of Asuran while also sharing details on how Ken narrated the story of the upcoming film to him.
Vetri Maaran started by talking about the team and segueing to how Ken makes an apt leader for the team. "When I saw the cast and crew speak about their experience of working on the film, I realised it is a very confident, young and vibrant team. We do not always see such a united team working on a film, and that kind of unity comes only when the person leading the team brings positivity and instils trust in everyone. Ken has given that trust to the team, and I am extremely happy about it."
The Arasan director then recalled a criticism he had for Ken when he narrated Youth's story to him. "When Ken narrated the story of Youth to me, I told him it was good but that the second half felt a little lengthy. However, he narrated it beautifully. He even carried a speaker to give me an idea of the kind of music that would play alongside particular scenes. Narrating a story in that manner is not easy."
Calling Ken a self-made actor, the director recalled how Dhanush guided him on the sets of Asuran. He said, "As an actor and director, Ken is self-made. He has observed Dhanush closely and drawn a lot of inspiration from him, but beyond that, he has built himself. I did nothing to make him who he is today. Dhanush, however, did a lot for him. During the shoot of Asuran, he told me that he wanted to spend a lot of time with Ken to develop the father-son bond for the film. He learnt a lot from him on that set."
Vetri Maaran then recommended more collaboration between Ken and the film's music composer GV Prakash, as he said, "I particularly enjoyed the promotional videos featuring GV Prakash and Ken, and I think they should make a film together as co-stars." Lastly, he concluded by saying, "For a young filmmaker to assemble a team of actors and technicians and make a film with this kind of production value is in itself a big achievement."
Youth also stars Devadarshini, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Anishma Anilkumar of Sirai fame, Priyanshi Yadav, and Meenakshi Dinesh, among others. The film's technical team also includes cinematographer Viki and editor Nash. The film is produced by Karuppiah C Ram and Sulochana Kumar under their banners Paarvathaa Entertainments and Street Boy Studios, respectively. It is slated to hit theatres on March 19.
