Chennai, Jan 27 (IANS): Southern actress Kajal Aggarwal is relieved that she has overcome her fear of birds thanks to the experience of shooting with them for upcoming Tamil film "Maari".

"'Maari' helped me get rid of one of my worst fears. There are a lot of birds in our film and I'm really scared of them, especially pigeons. But thanks to the experience of holding pigeons in my hand, I've successfully overcome the fear," Kajal told IANS.

The film, which is being directed by Balaji Mohan and also features Dhanush, is "shaping up very well".

Kajal is excited about working with Dhanush.

"Dhanush and I were supposed to work together for Tamil film 'Polladhavan'. We even did a photo-shoot together, but I had to choose between it and 'Chandamama' in Telugu because of the dates. We were again supposed to work together, but things didn't materialise. I'm happy we've come together for 'Maari'," she said.

About working with Dhanush, she said: "Working with him has been amazing. He's undoubtedly one of the most talented actors I've collaborated with. When you're working with somebody of very high calibre, you automatically raise the bar."

Balaji is one of the youngest directors Kajal has teamed up with.

"He's so focussed and driven by passion for his craft that I really enjoy working with him. I really like working with people with fresh ideas, concepts and a different perspective towards cinema," she added.

"Maari", which is produced by actor-politician R. Sarath Kumar and his wife Radikaa, is gearing up for a summer release.