Veera has been a propulsive intriguing brand-new drama series on Astro Vinmeen. Helmed by renowned local filmmaker, M.S Prem Nath, this first local Tamil sports series titled Veera features talented local artists such as Theebaan Govindasamy, Thasha Krishnakumar, Sharmendran Raghonathan, Shamini Shradha and more.
This 22-episode series revolves around Veera, a talented martial artist trained by former boxing champion, Thennavan, who has to face his own brother as a rival in a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) championship. The core of the plot is determined by Veera’s decision – to fight valiantly for the title or to stand aside and let his brother triumph in the final match.
We had the pleasure of catching up with the producer, Kalaivaani from Phoenix Films Sdn Bhd who shared some interesting facts about this series.
Kalaivaani Pandialagappan explained that Veera’s storyline and the initial parts are actually inspired by a Malaysian boxer from Ipoh in the 1950s. She further elucidates that the director of this series, M.S. Prem Nath had the opportunity to meet him in person a few years back.
“That’s how Veera started and the rest of the plot is purely fictional which we have developed” quoting that they have fine-tuned the story to make it interesting for the audience.
“This story was initially developed for a feature film then later we decided to produce it as a 22 Episode series for Astro Vinmeen,” she told Varnam Malaysia during an interview.
Delving more about the film, Kalaivaani remarked that the star cast and setup for this series are really massive and it was challenging.
“We had to deal with many real-life martial artists and provide sufficient days for their rehearsal also prep work for the shoot at the same time, ensuring the completion of the whole project within the stipulated time frame given by the channel.”
“It was very challenging and time-consuming to get the setup in place for the fighting sequence especially the scenes in the boxing ring and MMA cage,” the producer described.
As there were too many casts, it has been a grappling moment in planning the schedule too. However, they were able to run it smoothly as per the schedule. “It really took an entire team’s effort and hardwork to pull this through successfully,” said Kalaivaani .
When asked what prompted them to cast Theeban Govindasamy as the lead for this sport-based series, she explained that they were looking for someone who is a martial artist in real life. This role requires not just acting skills but someone who is able to perform the fight sequence.
“We were lucky to cast Theeban, who is able to do both,” said Kalaivaani noting that Theeban is also the stunt coordinator for all the fight scenes from the first episode till the end.
Veera is the first Tamil series that focuses mainly on MMA sports and the key highlight for this series is fighters in this project are professional martial artists.
“Right from our main two lead casts Theebaan Govindasamy and Sharmendran Raghonathan all of them are professionally trained in various martial arts,” added Vaani on how they integrated this factor in order to give the audience the best experience witnessing the fight scenes as realistically as possible.
We have spent a lot of time and energy making this series. “Veera is a solid product, hence regardless of how successful it is, I would like to first express my appreciation to what our team has accomplished.”
The producer quoted , “I can only hope it finds a place in your heart,” adding, “In any case, we advance and ascend.”
Watch VEERA on Astro Vinmeen (Ch 202) with new episodes available every Monday to Thursday at 9pm on TV and Astro GO or stream anytime On Demand.
Check out the latest Veera’s preview here:
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