Chennai, Apr 27 (IANS): Director Arun Matheswaran says that he chose to cast Keerthy Suresh in the lead role of his eagerly-awaited film 'Saani Kaayidham' after watching her performance in 'Mahanati'.

The director, who is back with 'Saani Kaayidham' after surprising everyone with a firecracker of a debut film called 'Rocky', says, "I watched 'Mahanati' and loved Keerthy Suresh's performance in the film. So, I had her in my mind for 'Saani Kaayidham'.

"Moreover, the role she plays in my film is one such character that she hasn't done before. So, I thought she would be the right choice, who brings in a breath of fresh air with some wildness. She was the first choice and I am glad she came onboard."

Not only did the director take a leap of faith with his leading lady, he also was quite confident on who he wanted to cast as her brother. Veteran director Selvaraghavan, who is also the elder brother of actor Dhanush, has played that role in the film.

Says Arun, "Selva Sir is a big name in the industry and a well-known director. I thought it would be a wild option to cast him."

Revealing his thoughts while approaching the director to act in 'Saani Kaayidham', Arun says, "Siddharth (creative producer) is close friends with Selva sir. So, it was easy to approach him. Everyone had their apprehensions since he hasn't acted in any film before nor was he interested. But I just wanted to give it a shot, so I met him and narrated the story and he loved it."

Continuing about his experience of directing a director, Arun adds, "I saw him as a director and was sceptical if he would give suggestions or if we would go into an awkward zone where we wouldn't understand each other, but nothing of that sort happened. He trusted me completely."

Produced under the banner of Screen Scene Media Entertainment, 'Saani Kaayidham' will premiere worldwide exclusively on Prime Video on 6 May. The film will also be available as 'Chinni' in Telugu and as 'Saani Kaayidham' in Malayalam.