When Lakshmy was in awe of Subbalakshmi's enthusiasm

Chennai, Oct 10: Actor-filmmaker Lakshmy Ramakrishnan's third Tamil directorial "Ammani" is slated for release on Friday. She says she's in awe of the commitment of her 82-year old lead actress Subbalakshmi.

"I find her enthusiasm and commitment very endearing, and it even left me in awe. At her age, she shot barefoot for many hours without complaining. She worked day in and night to complete the shoot quickly," Lakshmy told IANS.

"She doesn't like to be called Paatti (granny). She wants to be called Akka (sister)," she said.

"Ammani" is based on the inspiring yet funny attitude towards life of an 82-year-old woman ragpicker whom Lakshmy had met in real life.

It's about the bond between two women. One, 57 (played by Lakshmy) and the other, 82 (played by Subbalakshmi).

Besides directing the film, Lakshmy has played the lead and admits it was "extremely challenging" to do both.

"I've never done something like this before. I play a north Madras resident, who works as a help in a government hospital. I had to pick up on a new accent and change my body language to suit the character," said Lakshmy, who felt nobody else could've played the title role better because she had "conceived" it and "lived" with it.

Produced by Ven Govinda, who also felt only Lakshmy could do justice to the protagonist; the film also features Nithin Satya and Balaji in important roles.