When retired police officer Rudran visits his son in the US, little does he know that unusual incidents there will awaken the policeman inside him to investigate a series of crimes. Tamil film ‘Vellai Pookal’ follows Rudran on this journey.
Directed by debutant Vivek Elangovan, ‘Vellai Pookal’ features comedian Vivek in the lead role.
“The spark for the story came from a real-life incident that happened close to Seattle and was reported in the news,” said Elangovan, a Microsoft techie. He worked with scriptwriter Shanmuga Bharathi — another Seattle-based techie — on the story.
“We began work a few years ago and thought of a web series initially but after finishing the script felt it was suitable for a feature. We added the fictional element to make it relatable for an Indian audience,” he added
Juggling between a full-time job at Microsoft and directing a feature film was not easy. The pre-production work was done in the evenings and on weekends, and Elangovan took a three-week vacation to shoot the film in Seattle.
“It was tough but being passionate about computer science and cinema, it never felt like a hardship,” added Elangovan, who relied on his experience directing stage plays for Indus Creations, a Seattle-based performing arts group comprising of Indians expats. “It was like going from one awesome project to another.”
The supporting cast includes comedian Charle, Dev, Pooja Devariya and Hollywood actress Paige Henderson.
‘Vellai Pookal’, produced by Indus Creations and Tentkotta, releases in the UAE on April 19.
