" Yardie is a small project. It s not designed to be a big money-making film. Of course this is a business and I want to be proud of it. I think there s a misconception that the higher you get the less the success matters. That s not true " Elba told Irish Times newspaper.
"Are you kidding me? I ve directed this thing. I ve conjured it and to watch it go out into the public domain is great. I mean it s nerve-wrecking. But I can cover up my nerves by just ploughing on " he added.
"Yardie" is based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Victor Headley which tells the story of a young Jamaican who is sent to London to facilitate a drug deal.
Elba has been determined to avoid glamourising violence in the new movie reports femalefirst.co.uk.
He said: "There s a lot of violent energy in the book that I was nervous about portraying on screen because of the type of violence it is.
"I had to ask What am I saying about this? What am I saying about this culture? The term yardie is a derogatory term in the first place. So the energy I wanted was cultural energy. I wanted to feel like I ve just gone to Jamaica. I wanted to I feel like I m in the 1980s."
--IANS dc/rb