Director-turned-actor Samuthirakani has been hailed for his performance in Visaranai and now he has bagged a prestigious award too. The actor thanked the audience and media in a statement and said thar he was honoured with this accolade.

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Samuthirakani said, "This comes as a sweet surprise. I feel honoured, and I would like to thank director Vetrimaaran and producer Dhanush for giving me an opportunity to be a part of this important film. Tamil cinema needs more such films."

He also added that he was dedicating the award to his mentor, late filmmaker K Balachander, with whom he worked as an assistant director. When Samuthirakani came into the Tamil film industry he wanted to be an actor but he was told he would not make the cut as he neither had the looks nor the physique for it. 

Visaranai is based on the novel Lock Up. The screenplay and direction is by Vetrimaaran. The movie bagged two other National Awards as well. Samuthirakani played a cop in the film on police brutality and his character had many layers. 

Watch the trailer here: