It is common knowledge that renowned artist AP Shreethar is close to Kamal Haasan. So it didn’t come as a surprise when Ulaganayagan along with Gautami unveiled the music of Maeim, the maiden production venture of Shreethar recently at his famous Alwarpet residence which now functions as actor’s office.

Interestingly, Maeim is the name of the magazine published by Kamal Haasan, and Shreethar being an ardent fan and long-time associate of Kamal, took prior permission to use it for his debut production. The movie is about crimes that occur inside ATMs and is inspired by real life incidents. Most of the actors and technicians who are part of the film are studying in various city colleges.

Seeing a whole lot of freshers, Kamal became nostalgic and shared his memories about the venue, which has also served as a lucky one for many of his peers, including Rajinikanth.

He said, “Four decades ago, two unknown youngsters — RC Shakthi and myself came together for a film called Unarchigal. In fact, Shakthi sir could not get any popular actor for the lead and finally he came to me. We used to shoot on the terrace of this building since we could not afford to hire a studio. The photos from the film fetched me a role in my guru K. Balachander’s film then. Even Rajinikanth who used to flip cigarette stylishly in the air did his first photo session on the terrace. This is where veterans like Bharathiraja and Mani Ratnam used to sit, discuss, fight and exchange views on various occasions. A lot of youngsters who are big today had spent their beginning days here. I am happy that the next generation (the Maeim team) has come to the right place.” A signature campaign against ‘ATM Crimes’ was also part of the event.