`Haridas` an ode to fatherhood: Director

Chennai: Tamil director G.N.R Kumaravelan says his forthcoming family-drama ‘Haridas’ is an ode to fatherhood as the film is about the relationship between a father and son.

"The film is built on a simple and universal concept that the first hero of every child is his or her father. The relationship between a single father and his autistic son is explored through this film. In simple words, it celebrates fatherhood," Kumaravelan said. "In our country, autism is still treated as a disease. Autistic children are either discarded or put in a special school. I attempt to break all such cliches through this film and I am positive that I will succeed in this effort," he added. ‘Haridas’, which releases Friday, features Kishore, Sneha, Prithviraj Das, Soori and Pradeep Rawat in the lead. Why did you choose Kishore, a popular villain, in the lead? "He may have played villain roles, but he is a good artiste and that is why I chose him. More importantly, he is the kind of actor who can be easily moulded. I am confident that post-`Haridas`, he won`t be considered a villain at all," Kumaravelan said. One of the biggest challenges, he said, was to find a young boy and groom him to play a very difficult character. "Finding an eight-year-old boy for the lead character was extremely challenging. We searched everywhere, inside and outside the industry, but couldn`t find. Finally, we found the boy in Coimbatore after months of search," he added. "Since Kishore and Sneha are seasoned actors, I spent all my time grooming the boy in getting the required expression for his role," said Kumaravelan. The director denied he had made the film to win awards. "No, I didn`t make this film with the intention of winning any awards. All I can say is that it`s a very emotional film. It packs a heart-touching message and I hope audiences will embrace it". V.Ramadoss has produced the film, which has music by Vijay Anthony. R. Rathnavelu is the cinematographer. IANS