Brave Abhinandan’s dad helped Mani Ratnam

Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who has been captured by Pakistan, is calm and composed in the custody of the neighbouring country’s army.  Meanwhile, his father, retired Air Marshal Simhakutty Varthaman, is in the news for two reasons.

Simhakutty and his family are distressed over the news of Abhi’s capture.  They live in Chennai’s outskirts.  Flooded with incessant calls by the media, Simhakutty has lamented that he is being “harassed” continuously since morning. The gates of the colony where he lives have been closed so that no media personnel enters there.  

As someone with hands-on experience as an Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Simhakutty could help Mani Ratnam during the making of Karthi’s ‘Kaatru Veliyadai’ (‘Cheliyaa’ in Telugu) when the director approached him.  Incidentally, in this film, the male lead gets captured by Pakistan.