Chennai, April 13 (IANS): Directing a nine-year-old, who plays the lead in forthcoming Telugu psychological horror-thriller "Budugu", was a challenge for Manmohan.

"The film is based on real events. It's about a kid with abnormal behavioural tendencies and his family. Prem, a child actor, plays the lead. To bring out the required behaviour from him on screen was extremely challenging," Manmohan told IANS.

"It was more challenging because the story is inspired from the life of my friend's child. I spent a lot of time with the real child to understand what he was going through. So I wanted Prem to bring out exactly what I saw in my friend's child," he said.

"Budugu" releases in cinemas on Friday.

Manmohan wrote the script based on months of investigation on the case. He says it's a shocking story that has been adapted to the commercial format.

"The child, who's sent to a boarding school, is subsequently removed and sent back home because of his abnormal behaviour. I was intrigued by the real story and decided to make it into a film with a happy ending," he said.

"The film will create awareness on parenting kids with such a typical behaviour. There's a purpose why I chose this story and that it was not just for commercial reasons," he added.

Before adapting the story for the big screen, Manmohan also discussed it with the child's family and a group of psychiatrists.

"The real kid is in Class 10 today. He's living a normal life. It's very important that my film doesn't affect his present state. Hence, I discussed with his family and a few psychiatrists to understand how much about his life was allowed to be adapted," he said.

"In order to appeal to the audience, we took some leeway and tossed in some horror element. Otherwise, people would get bored. Such compromises are inevitable when you're adapting real life stories."

"We've used about ten minutes of visual effects in the film, which features Sridhar Rao and Lakshmi Manchu in important roles," he added.

Heaping praise on actress Manchu, he said: "We had approached many artistes for the role of the mother, but nobody was interested. Finally, I felt Lakshmi would be perfect for the role. She immediately agreed to be part of the project and didn't have any qualms of playing a mother."