Anbil Avan: Ashok Selvan's family backs his dream

Ashok Selvan had a particularly personal thank-you for his parents ahead of Anbil Avan. When the film went over budget, he said, he asked for their house documents so he could mortgage the property. They handed them over without hesitation, backing the dream he was working towards with his sister and fellow producer, Abinaya Selvam.

His tribute to Abinaya was just as heartfelt. She had stood beside him through difficult years, he said, giving him the strength of both an elder sister and an elder brother. “If my name is on a film’s poster, I want 100 per cent of my effort to be in it,” Ashok said. That commitment, and the people who had helped him honour it, ran through the film’s pre-release celebration.

The film stars Ashok and Preity Mukhundhan, with debutant R. Kaarthikeyan directing from a story by Por Thozhil filmmaker Vignesh Raja. It is now scheduled to open worldwide on October 2, 2026. The makers moved it from September 25, saying the extra week would allow a wider release.

Abinaya said the story that brought the Anbil Avan team together was the reason she wanted to make the film: a loving couple fighting their way out of trouble, trying to hold on to the life they had imagined. She spoke warmly of a sibling relationship sustained by conversation and laughter. Ashok’s serious screen roles, she said, were hardly the whole picture. He was her friend as much as her brother.

Vignesh Raja traced the story’s first spark to an incident near Jaipur, when he was making corporate films before entering cinema. Caught in heavy rain during a drive, his group pulled down a roadside banner to protect equipment on their vehicle. They had not checked whose image was on it, and found themselves in serious trouble. That unexpected turn became the seed of a love story about a couple whose plans are threatened by circumstances beyond their control.

He also recalled 15 years of friendship with Ashok, watching Mission: Impossible together and imagining the cinema they wanted to make. Seeing his first film’s leading man reach this point was a source of pride. Kaarthikeyan, too, had known Ashok for a decade. He spoke of projects that had begun and stalled since 2017, some after a day of filming, others after longer schedules. He credited Abinaya’s faith and Ashok’s involvement, which he likened to having another assistant director, with helping this film reach completion.

Preity described the production as a place where she had been welcomed, guided and trusted. “It felt as though Ashok and Abinaya had adopted me into their team,” she said. She thanked Ashok for giving her room to perform alongside him and Kaarthikeyan for helping her through demanding emotional scenes and dubbing. The experience, she said, had strengthened her desire to work with good writers and directors.

Editor R. K. Selva underlined that her place in the story was substantial: this was a film about two people, with Preity’s role carrying equal importance to Ashok’s. A college friend of the actor, Selva remembered the short films they had made together and spoke with pride about how far Ashok had travelled since then.

The action drew some of the evening’s most enthusiastic accounts. Peter Hein said he had set aside 45 days for the film despite an already crowded schedule. He described becoming part of the family, discussing sequences closely with Ashok and Kaarthikeyan and treating the production with the care he would give his own. Kaarthikeyan called the final 30 minutes Peter Hein’s film; Ashok credited the stunt choreographer with giving their smaller production a much larger scale.

Harish Kalyan recalled Ashok telling him about a 70-foot jump, and asking whether it had been documented. The willingness to attempt it did not surprise him, he said. Aswath Marimuthu made a similar point about Ashok’s daring, while also praising the punctuality and commitment he had seen when they worked together on Oh My Kadavule.

The three actors playing antagonists had their own memories of that demanding shoot. Kadirbalu singled out a fight staged in a single shot. Maha Delhi Ganesh praised Preity’s patience during difficult scenes and said working under Peter Hein had been a matter of pride. Sabumon Abdusamad joked about being a quiet person asked to play someone vicious, then being put through freezing conditions and relentless work. The discomfort, he said, fell away when he watched the finished film. He had found close friends as well as collaborators.

Govind Vasantha called the film a project he had particularly enjoyed working on after a long interval. Selva revealed that an initial plan for three songs had grown into six. Think Music’s Santhosh said the album had found an enthusiastic response, recalling Govind’s confidence in it a year earlier. Kaarthikeyan spoke of visiting the composer in Kochi and watching him play instrument after instrument himself, praising his attention to lyrics as well as melody.

Cinematographer Gowtham Rajendran thanked the team for trusting him with the opportunity and giving him freedom to experiment. Preity said his feedback had helped her through scenes, and appreciated the colour and care with which he photographed her. Manikandan Srinivasan handles the film’s art direction.

There was affection from the visitors too. Gautham Ram Karthik called Ashok a friend whose company could make problems feel lighter. Nivas K. Prasanna looked back on working with him in Thegidi, while Kavitha Pandian spoke of the film’s personal significance to her and praised the team’s efforts. Aswath said he had rearranged his shooting day to be there; Harish wished Ashok still greater recognition in the years ahead.

Produced by K. Karunamoorthy, Ashok Selvan and Abinaya Selvam under Ayngaran International and Happy High Pictures, Anbil Avan reaches theatres on October 2. Ashok’s promise was measured: “I won’t say this is the best film in the world. But it will be a good theatrical experience.”