Chennai, Feb 18 (IANS): Tamil director G.N.R Kumaravelan says his forthcoming family-drama "Haridas" is an ode to fatherhood as the film is about the relationship between a father and son.

"The film is built on a simple and universal concept that the first hero of every child is his or her father. The relationship between a single father and his autistic son is explored through this film. In simple words, it celebrates fatherhood," Kumaravelan told IANS.

"In our country, autism is still treated as a disease. Autistic children are either discarded or put in a special school. I attempt to break all such cliches through this film and I am positive that I will succeed in this effort," he added.

"Haridas", which releases Friday, features Kishore, Sneha, Prithviraj Das, Soori and Pradeep Rawat in the lead.

Why did you choose Kishore, a popular villain, in the lead?

"He may have played villain roles, but he is a good artiste and that is why I chose him. More importantly, he is the kind of actor who can be easily moulded. I am confident that post-'Haridas', he won't be considered a villain at all," Kumaravelan said.

One of the biggest challenges, he said, was to find a young boy and groom him to play a very difficult character.

"Finding an eight-year-old boy for the lead character was extremely challenging. We searched everywhere, inside and outside the industry, but couldn't find. Finally, we found the boy in Coimbatore after months of search," he added.

"Since Kishore and Sneha are seasoned actors, I spent all my time grooming the boy in getting the required expression for his role," said Kumaravelan.

The director denied he had made the film to win awards. "No, I didn't make this film with the intention of winning any awards. All I can say is that it's a very emotional film. It packs a heart-touching message and I hope audiences will embrace it".

V.Ramadoss has produced the film, which has music by Vijay Anthony. R. Rathnavelu is the cinematographer.