Acclaimed Tamil filmmaker Ram, considered one of the finest directors in contemporary Tamil cinema, has opened up about his experience working with Malayalam actor Grace Antony in his upcoming film Paranthu Po.

Notably, the ace director had worked with Mammootty in the 2018 release Peranbu, a film that won laurels for its intense and deep portrayals of its characters. He later went on to team up with Nivin Pauly for another project.

In Paranthu Po, Shiva plays the lead role, the movie also features Grace Antony and Aju Varghese in prominent roles.

In a recent interview with Saina South Plus as part of the film’s promotional campaign, Ram spoke fondly about his experience narrating the film's script to Grace Antony - an anecdote that has now won the hearts of cine lovers.

“I still remember narrating the story of Paranthu Po to Grace. I took more time telling her the story than I did with Shiva or Aju Varghese. In fact, I even took longer than I did with Mammootty while narrating Peranbu,” Ram said, laughing.

“It only took me five minutes to narrate the story to Mammootty. Shiva heard it in four minutes, and Aju Varghese in just one. But with Grace, I ended up spending twenty minutes,” he chuckled.

He added, “But Grace is truly an extraordinary person. At one point, I even considered including a few more scenes for her in the film because of how impressed I was.”

Ram's comments have drawn attention to Grace Antony’s rising profile as a pan-Indian talent and underscore his reputation for working with performers who bring depth and nuance to socially grounded storytelling.

Paranthu Po will hit theatres on July 4.