Clarification: Amala Paul and Vishnu Vishal don't play cameo appearances in Halitha Shameem's Minmini

Multiple reports suggested that Amala Paul and Vishnu Vishal were roped in to play cameo roles in Halitha Shameem's directorial venture, Minmini. Speaking to OTTplay, the filmmaker clarifies, "It is untrue. I don't know from where such rumours spread. Maybe, a misconception arose because Raatchasan was earlier titled Minmini." Halitha's latest outing was Putham Pudhu Kaalai Vidiyaadhaa; streaming on Amazon Prime Video. She directed one of the five episodes, Loner. 

Gaurav Kalai, Pravin Kishore and Esther Anil of Papanasam fame play pivotal roles in Minmini, which went on the floors in 2016.

Halitha Shameem tells OTTplay, "Minmini is a tale of friendship and survival is not a children’s film. At the same time, the story highlights the importance of an individual’s life and dreams. The young adults I have characterised are emotionally-bound and responsible. While the first half focuses on the relationship between the three, the second half will be centred around their adult versions."

In an interview with the New Indian Express, Halitha Shameem said, "Minmini will not have any songs. We are planning to get the rights of a Hollywood track and use it, which is a first-of-its-kind attempt in Tamil cinema."

Halitha, who’s worked as an assistant director to Mysskin, P Samuthirakani and Pushkar-Gayathri for seven years; waited six years to resume the shooting of Minmini, as the film is set in two different periods.

In October 2018, Halitha had, in a tweet, suggested that it was a “creative decision” to suspend the shooting of Minmini. “The young actors were so awesomely natural that we decided to wait for a few years for them to grow up rather than casting some other actors to play their older versions,” she wrote in the tweet.

Halitha Shameem made her debut as a director with Poovarasam Peepee in 2014. Her second feature was Sillu Karupatti, an anthology. Released in 2019, the film, which fetched raving reviews, had Samuthirakani, Sunainaa, Manikandan K, Nivedhithaa Sathish, the late Kravmaga Sreeram, Leela Samson, Sara Arjun, and Rahul in the lead roles. The anthology consisted of four short films based on human relationships.

Her third feature, Aelay (featuring Samuthirakani and Manikandan) had a direct television premiere; and is currently streaming on Netflix.