Gnanarajasekaran is one of the very few directors in Tamil cinema, who is known for his penchant to churn out off-beat and realistic movies.

His Mogha Mul and Bharathy won critical acclaims. A former Censor Board official, Gnanarajasekaran has etched out the life of the rationalist leader of the country E V R Periyar with Sathyaraj playing the title role.

Periyar, who is part and parcel of Tamil culture and life style, was known for creating a social awakening and his Dravidian Movement has won a place in the history. Gnanarajasekaran has taken sincere attempts to chronicle this rationalist leader who fought against social evils without prejudice.

Speaking about the film, he says, "Now-a-days it has become the trend to throw the hero in bad light as an anti-hero and gangster. The hero should idealistically be a role model to others. So I choose to do movie on Periyar, which can motivate the present generation. I have spent nearly four years to prepare the script of this movie".

"Sathyaraj is donning the role of Periyar. I have tried to spot out the incidents unknown to many that happened in the life of Periyar," he adds. "We shot the movie extensively in various places including where Periyar was born, the cities and towns that he visited including Russia and Malaysia. Cinematography by Thangar Bachchan was amazing. He has captured the images to perfection in the movie."

Sathyaraj, thrilled to play the role of Periyar, says, "It was the dream in my life to don the role of Periyar. I thank Gnanarajasekaran for giving me the rare opportunity. I grew up influenced by the ideals of Periyar. I am confident that this movie would teach a lot of lesson to the audience and create a social awakening."

Kushboo plays Maniammai, while Jyothirmayi dons the roe of Nagammai.

It may be recalled that the State government has sanctioned a sum of Rs 95 lakh for the movie.

Slated to hit the screens on 1 May, the movie is being dubbed in other Indian languages besides French and German.