Cinematographer Gokul Benoy Turns Producer With Pechi
“Had we worked with another artiste instead of Gayathrie on this film, we would have packed up after the first schedule of this film. That is because shooting for this film was on a tough terrain.”

One of Tamil cinema’s finest cinematographers, Gokul Benoy, who is best known for having worked on films likes Pannaiyarum Padminiyum and Oru Naal Koothu, has now turned a producer.
The young cinematographer has produced a pure horror film called Pechi, along with Shaik Mujeeb, Vignesh Selvarajan, Dhanishtan Fernando,Rajarajan Gnanasambandam and Sanjai Shankar. Interestingly, Sanjai Shankar is the son of well known yesteryear Tamil hero Jai Shankar.
The film, which has Gayathrie Shankar and Bala Saravanan playing pivotal roles, will be a pure horror film that will be Tamil cinema’s first horror film to happen in the day and not in night.
The film has music by Rajesh Murugesan and cinematography by Parthiban.
Speaking at a press conference called by the team on Tuesday, Gokul Benoy said, “This is my first time as a film producer. Pannaiyarum Padminiyum was my first film as cinematographer. After Pannaiyarum Padminiyum, I did not do any films for two years. It was only after two years that I did Oru Naal Koothu. During that two-year period, all my financial needs were met by Ram anna (director Ramachandran). At that point, Ram anna was busy doing ad films. All my financial commitments were met by Ram anna’s ad films. I worked on all of them. So, when Ram anna, who was trying to do a movie for a very long time, did not have much success in getting a producer, I decided to do a movie for him.
“We have a YouTube Channel called Veyilon which I started with two people – Vijay and Viki — who worked with me in Pannaiyarum Padminiyum as assistant directors. With both my friends, I decided to enter film production. First, we decided to do another script. But then, Ram anna had done a short film called Pechi. I strongly believe that he excels in the horror genre. So, we wondered why not make a film in a genre in which he is very comfortable. That is how we arrived at making the short film Pechi into a full-fledged feature film.
“I wanted to use this movie to enable all my friends to grow with me. Parthi, who is my batchmate and close friend, was chosen as cinematographer. Ram anna is very comfortable with Parthi. The next person we decided to cast was Swami. He is a very sincere worker looking to make a mark and I wanted to give him an opportunity. So, we cast him in an important role in this film. Jana was cast next.
“We needed a person to play the main character. It was at that time that Ashwin first referred Gayathrie’s name. Actress Aishwarya Rajesh too referred Gayathrie Shankar’s name. We met her and spoke to her. She is a very comfortable artiste to work with. Had we worked with another artiste instead of Gayathrie on this film, we would have packed up after the first schedule of this film. That is because shooting for this film was on a tough terrain. We had to travel deep into the jungles, where there would be no caravans or restrooms. But Gayathrie was comfortable. She was splendid and completed the shoot for us.”
Director Ramachandran, who spoke on the occasion, said, “Ten years ago, My friend Vasanth and I wrote this story as a one page story. I did a short film and that is now what has been turned into a feature film. I thank Gokul for it. Pechi, like any good film, takes what it requires. Similarly, Pechi has brought in another team (of producers) – Mujeeb sir and team – and is all set to release on August 2.”