Chennai, Sep 9 (IANS): First-time director Dharani Dharan says shooting his forthcoming Tamil directorial debut "Burma" in real locations of north Madras, was challenging as it required them to shoot in places where acquiring permission was "difficult".

"Most of the story takes place in real places in north Madras. To shoot in these locations was extremely challenging. We shot in highly crowded places like Royapuram, Pudhupet and Ennore," Dharani told IANS.

"Burma", which is slated for release Friday, features Michael Thangadurai, Reshmi Menon in lead roles. It is based on carjacking.

The makers used some highly expensive cars for shooting the film.

"My film doesn't feature extreme chase sequences, but still we used a car worth Rs.1.5 crore. To shoot with it on real roads was another challenge. We had to be extremely careful while using it because it was offered free of cost by a luxury car brand," he said.

The brand's team was impressed with Dharani's script and offered a luxurious car for the shoot.

Dharani, who had plans to rope in popular faces for "Burma", finally decided to go with newcomers because people didn't believe in his script.

"I met a lot of top heroes with my script, but nobody was ready to listen to me. They felt my story was very offbeat. They showed the least interest because the project is not funded by a popular production house," he said.

He still managed to cast popular character artists such as Atul Kulkarni and Sampath Raj in important roles.

"Atul and Sampath really liked the script. They agreed to work for lesser remuneration than what they usually charge. I don't know how much they charge, but I'm aware they're very popular, so one can imagine how much they must be getting paid," he said.

The unusual title of "Burma" is based on the name of a real-life carjacker in north Madras.