He is now one of the promising directors of Kollywood. But a few years ago, no producer came forward to do a film with Simbudevan. And Vadivelu too was initially not ready to do play the protagonist in 'Imsai Arasan 23am Pulikesi'.
"My first project was Minmini, which I am yet to make. No producer Okayed it including Shankar. At last, I impressed Shankar with Imsai Arasn… script. But the real test started when I tried to convince Vadivelu," he says.
Simbudevan adds: "Vadivelu was hesitant to play the hero role and was not even ready to listen to my storyline. But somehow I managed to narrate a particular scene from the script which he liked very much and came forward to do the dual role."
Recalling the days when he shared a small room with A R Murugadoss, who too is one of the top filmmakers now, Simbudevan says, "He would often say that 'getting opportunity to direct a film is like opening a number lock without knowing the numbers.' What he said was true."