CHENNAI : Actor Rahman is no stranger to police roles, something that is evident in his filmography. A common element in most of his cop characters is an underlying sense of empathy. Some examples are Umar in Ameer’s Raam, Deepak in Karthick Naren’s Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru, and now the cop-turned-advocate Manikkam in SP Subburaman’s Anjaamai. The actor says that the added dimension of empathy in his character is one of the factors that draws him to a project as it allows him to form an emotional connection with its story. The same goes for Anjaamai, which stars Vidaarth, Vani Bhojan, and Krithik Mohan in pivotal roles. “My character in Anjaamai, Manikkam, is a very empathetic and determined cop who turns into an advocate. He is part of a law enforcement system that lacks this all-too-human quality and that creates hierarchical roadblocks to action, so he becomes a lawyer. When SP Subburaman narrated the story to me, I liked it quite a lot as it has such an emotional pull,” says the actor, speaking from his home in Kochi.
Anjaamai explores the NEET exam and the challenges it poses to the students and to their parents. In other words, it delves into the complexities of underprivileged students struggling to crack the NEET for an MBBS seat. Writer-director Subburaman tells the story from the perspectives of Sarkar (Vidaarth), Saraswathi (Vani Bhojan), and Arundhavam (Krithik Mohan). Rahman’s character has more prominence in the second half of the film, as he leaves his police job and takes up the profession of an advocate to fight the system. The story is pregnant with potency and provocation, and Rahman is quick to recognise its relevance despite the delay in its release.
