Tourist Family director reveals this Kamal Haasan film which inspired him to make his debut: I had plans to make a sequel…

Thanks to positive reports that are flooding the social media, upcoming Tamil film Tourist Family has much expectations on it, even as it is set to clash with Suriya’s Retro. Tourist Family, starring Ayothi actor Sasikumar, Simran and others, will release on May 1 and is directed by debutant filmmaker Abishan Jeevinth. In one of the promotional interviews, the director revealed that a certain Kamal Haasan film inspired him to make Tourist Family.

Tourist Family director reveals Kamal Haasan film which inspired him to make his debut

Even before the release of Tourist Family, positive reviews of the film have been coming out. With debutant Abishan at the helm of it, in one of the promotional interviews, Abishan said he was inspired by the 2000 Tamil comedy drama Thenali starring Kamal Haasan in the lead role. Interestingly, Kamal Haasan plays a Sri Lankan Tamil refugee in the film, while in Tourist Family, the protagonists also have a Sri Lankan Tamil accent.

Mentioning how much he likes Thenali, the director said he had plans to make a sequel of it. "However, it did not work out, and when I wanted to do a family film, I took the spark and developed in another way,” Abishan added.

Where to watch Thenali on OTT?

Thenali is available for streaming on Aha Tamil and OTTplay Premium. The film is directed by KS Ravikumar and stars Kamal Haasan, Jayaram, Devayani, Jyothika, Delhi Ganesh, Charle, Ramesh Khanna and Madhan Bob among others. It was in Thenali when Kamal Haasan was first credited with his former monicker Ulaganayagan, which he later relinquished.

The film revolves around Sri Lankan Tamil refugee who comes to Chennai in order to find cure for number of phobias he has. In the process, he gets close to his psychiatrist's family, much to the doctor’s dislike.