For me 'Aarathu Sinam' is not a remake, says Arulnithi

The actor had a good 2015 with Demonte Colony turning out to be a superhit. Now, Arulnithi is starting 2016 with Aarathu Sinam, a remake of the Malayalam hit film Memories. The Tamil movie is directed by Arivazhagan who has films like Eeram and Vallinam behind him. Renowned producer Thenandal Films had bought the rights to the Tamil remake and roped in Arulnithi for the project. In this exclusive interview with dna, Arulnithi talks about the film and more. 

How did you sign Aarathu Sinam?
Producer Murali of Thenandal Films and I had been planning to work on a film together. But we had not finalised the project. It was then that he asked me to see Memories as he had the Tamil remake rights to the movie. I liked the movie.

You worked with Arivazhagan in this project.
Arivazhagan and I had also been wanting to work together since Vallinam. After watching this film, I called him and spoke about this film. We then got Murali on board and it was finalised. I think I was destined to do the film because everything fell in place really quickly. 

How similar or different is it from Jeethu Joseph's Memories?
Arivazhagan went through the original and came up with a rough cut of what the Tamil film would be like. We have retained the soul of the film but the nativity and screenplay are obviously adapted to local sensibilities. Arivazhagan has shown respect for Jeethu Joseph but the screenplay is definitely in his style. In the Malayalam film for instance, Kerala is the background but in Aarathu Sinam it is Madurai. The movie is definitely not a scene-by-scene copy of the original. 

Are you worried about comparisons to the original film?
People will no doubt compare it to the original - that is undeniable for a remake. But we've tried to do justice to the remake. Prithviraj is a seasoned versatile actor. I definitely can't compare myself to him. I took this as a straight film and played my role as the alcoholic cop. Of course, Arivu shaped the character. 

Recently, there have been many remakes. Some have failed.
There is a trend of horror films, so when I signed Demonte Colony, they asked why is Arulnidhi also doing a horror film. I still did it. For me this is also a film. There's no such thing as one shouldn't do a remake. I can't pass off a film out of fear of criticism. I got some ten horror scripts before Demonte Colony, but I liked that particular script. Mistakes can happen in straight films or remakes. I am just looking at the positive side. I don't know many people who've have seen the original Malayalam film. I did Aarathu Sinam because I liked it. 

Tell us about your co-star Aishwarya Rajesh.
She is a very good artist. I must appreciate her. She plays a mother in this film. She gives the script importance rather than see how many minutes she appears on screen.

Are there any songs in this film?
There's only one melody Thanimaiye in the movie. Thaman has scored the music for the film. I consider him lucky because he also did Mouna Guru. Arivazhagan and Thaman also share a good bind because he did the music for this earlier films. 

Has your family seen the movie?

No, they'll be watching it on Friday with the audience. I'm excited and nervous about the release and waiting to see the audience response.

Watch the trailer here: