AR Rahman at Maamannan success meet: ‘I teamed up with Maari Selvaraj because he did something I couldn’t do with music’

“I didn’t know the film would turn out this well when I came on board. It was like an art film by my favourite filmmakers. Again Vadivelu is one of my favourites… I saw one shot of him riding pillion with Udhay. After seeing that shot, I decided I had to do something extraordinary for the film. With that one shot, he expressed a lot. That gave me the idea for the song (Raasa Kannu).”

Later, Vadivelu got on stage to thank AR Rahman for elevating the film experience with the music. He then added that he cried watching the film. “There are six scenes that I really loved about the film, and I cried a lot seeing one particular scene where the boy climbs to the top of the hill and screams. These are shots that are usually done by filmmakers who are in the industry for decades, but Maari has pulled it off already.”

Maamanna, also starring Fahadh Faasil, Laal, and Keerthy Suresh, is the story of a Dalit MLA and his son, who have to fight against a casteist political leader in the election. It marks the last film of Udhayanidhi Stalin, who has become a full-time politician.