Mithivedi, directed by the Australian-based finance-consultant-turned-short filmmaker Anand Maiyur Srinivas, is the first Tamil feature film that talks about the landmine issue in Sri Lanka.
The young filmmaker, who has won critical acclaim for his shorts like Thiraigal, Alai Osai and Yazhini at an international level, is back with a bang.

What prompted him to go in for a sensitive subject like Mithivedi? "In recent times, Avatar, the most expensive film ever made, was sidelined at the Oscars in favour of Hurt Locker, a low budget movie about the landmine issue in the Iraq war.

Similarly, a decade ago, Lagaan was overlooked at the Oscars in favour of No Man's Land — a film about landmine issues during the Bosnian-Serbian conflict!

The reason for this is perhaps that the Western world wants to create awareness among the world audience about the presence and dangers of landmines. When I came across the Ban Landmines Campaign, I was shocked to see that about one million landmines are yet to be diffused in northeast Sri Lanka. So why not something closer to our continent," explains Anand. "Thanks to the rocking response generated on YouTube for our trailers, the film will be released in theaters in Europe and Canada during mid-April," he adds.

Anand plans to release Mithivedi in India later this year.