A hand is the hero!

Yes, that’s right! A hand is the hero in this film — Peechaankai (left hand). The subject of the upcoming film is ‘alien hand syndrome’. The left hand of the protagonist is itself a character in the film, and hence I wanted a new face without a big face value,” says director Ashok, on choosing debutant Karthik over a big hero. Says Ashok, “The film is about S. Muthu, a left-hander, who is a pickpocket by profession, and is nicknamed ‘Smoodhu’ by the police. On a fateful day, he meets with an accident, which damages his brain and his left hand starts functioning involuntarily due to a medical condition called ‘alien hand syndrome’.”

Having tasted success in making a short film with the same name and theme, Ashok wanted to retain the lead actor Karthik for the feature film as well. “When I approached a very big production house, they were impressed with the idea and came forward to produce it. The producer was also willing to pay me well. But, he insisted that I change Karthik and instead, suggested a particular hero. I was not willing to do that as I felt the importance would be shifted to the hero from the script. So, I dropped the idea of working with that banner,” Ashok reveals, refusing to mention who the producer was. The movie is co-produced by ace lens man PG Muthaiah.

While he has done his bit of research on the syndrome, Ashok had roped in Anjali Rao, who played STR’s sister in Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada, as the heroine. On the film being certfied with U/A, he says, “It is also a political satire, and there is a child kidnapping sequence and a few coarse dialogues.”