Sarath does father-son act in 'Ayyaa'

Chennai, Jan 12 (IANS): Kavithalaya banner's latest release "Ayya", which stars Sarath Kumar in the double role of an estranged father and his son, is hoping for a good box-office response from the Pongal audience.

The last big hit from Balachander's production house was 2003's "Saami", which was also directed by Hari. It is worth remembering that the director's two post-"Saami" films, "Arul" and "Kovil" flopped at the box office.

"Ayya" was originally written for superstar Rajnikant. When he decided to do "Chandramukhi", Sarath Kumar stepped into the roles.

Sarath, who excels in double roles (remember his other hits - "Nattamai" and "Suryavamsam"), plays an honest politician, fondly called "Ayya" by his electorate. A misunderstanding over a family matter leads to the estrangement between the MLA from Tirunelveli and his son.

The rest of the plot relates how the misunderstandings are resolved and the family reunited.

Veteran actress Lakshmi returns to the silver screen after five years as the senior Sarath's wife, while the delightful 20-year-old Nayanthara plays the younger Sarath's love interest.

"Ayya" is Nayanthara's first Tamil film, although she is better known as Rajnikant's heroine in "Chandramukhi". The audience will be eager to appraise her performance.

Bharadwaj, who had a big hit in 2004's "Vasool Raja", has composed the music for "Ayya". Incidentally, Bharadwaj's daughter Janani makes her debut as a playback singer in this film.

"Ayya", which also stars Napolean, Prakashraj and Vadivelu, was produced by Balachander's daughter Pushpa Kandasamy and shot entirely in Tirunelveli and Nagercoil. V.T. Vijayan and Priyan were in charge of editing and camera work.

Like "Thirupachi", "Ayya" is an eagerly awaited Pongal (Jan 14) release.