From the spontaneous applause that followed the Chennai screening of the Tamil film Aanivaer, writer-director John Mahendran knew he had finally stuck the right chord with his audience. ''Nanda (who plays the lead) and I were standing outside the doors of the theater when we heard the claps,'' recalls an overwhelmed John, adding that the response was just the same during screenings in Tamil pockets in London, Canada, Switzerland, Norway and Denmark. Shot on a tight budget and entirely in Sri Lanka, the film is a love story between a Sri Lankan Tamil doctor and an Indian reporter, set against the tropical island's ethnic strife.

Those who have watched the film agree that sensitive scripting, raw realism and honest performances from both Nanda and Madumitha (in the lead) have worked in favour of the film, which is soon to be released in India. Living under the shadow of a famous father hasn't been easy for John – he is the son of ace director Mahendran. His debut film Sachin, starring Vijay and Genelia, sank at the box office. Aanivaer, however, is a fresh start in the right direction and will hopefully get him the recognition he deserves.

 To be honest he was not at all aware of what was happening to the Tamils in Sri Lanka, till he made Aanivaer. His knowledge was limited to headlines about Sri Lanka… bombings, mass death, and guerilla attacks… but 'who', 'why', these were questions he was yet to ask himself. Initially, he wanted to make a movie with war as the backdrop. He was given a lot of material detailing the pathetic condition of Tamils in Sri Lanka. He opted to meet these people in person – people who were in the midst of tragic happenings, who had lost their loved ones, their organs, and yet were adamant about not leaving their homeland. It dawned on him then that he was undertaking a great responsibility as a director and a human being.

Thus Aanivaer was born. When the film was announced, several artistes expressed interest in the film, even for a small role. But they refused to take his calls as he approached the shooting date. Then Nanda rang his doorbell one night. He gave me his passport and said that if he was convinced about casting him in the lead role, their next meeting would be on the flight to Sri Lanka! Both he and the Telugu girl, Madhumita, empathized with their characters. They were among people (the other actors) who had actually faced the tragedies mentioned in the script, and they just reacted to it. Shooting in Sri Lanka, that too with such a sensitive theme, must have been risky. Honestly, they faced no problems. He didn't want to get dramatic and project those a warriors.

After all, they were just making a movie. There were many. For instance, there was this scene where Nanda comes rushing in with a wounded boy. The boy dies. he wanted the woman who played the mother of the boy to break down screaming. After 13 takes, the lady refused to comply and he was losing his patience. He asked her loudly why she would not cry…had she never faced a tragedy. She replied with a grim smile: ''Moonu kuzhandhaigala porala ezhandhuten…neraya azhuduhuten thambi… enakku azhuga vaarathu'' (I have lost three children to war…

I have cried enough. I can't cry anymore). There they were, staring at her silenced. Cinematographer PC Sriram once said that the more the limitations, the more one will get creative. This is what happened with Aanivaer. All they had was a Panasonic HDTV camera. But he had his cinematographer Sanjay who made the most use of whatever they had on location. They were just six of them, including the two lead actors, and they were the light men, art assistants, still photographers, even make up men. Local people who had no prior experience in filmmaking assisted them. People who had lost so much in war.