Suriya: A film like ‘24’ will happen once in three years
Suriya is always known for his painstaking efforts and he would go any extreme to justify the character given to him. In this freewheeling chat with us, the actor opens up on why he always attempts something unique and dons the producer hat, especially for a big budget film like ‘24’.
“A project like ‘24’ will happen only once in three years. Yes, our Tamil directors have produced path-breaking films but very few of them have content for big budget and large canvas. I can definitely say that ‘24’ wouldn't be a regular Friday release and more than my film, the project belongs to Vikram Kumar. He had the script of ‘24’ with him for six years, even while narrating the story, he told me about the production design, backdrop etc,” says Suriya.
“I’ve my limitations. I’m not like Kamal sir to write and create my own films. Not just that, Kamal sir has brought many other language directors including Singeetham Srinivasa Rao to Tamil and he never bothered about hits or flops and undeniably, he is my biggest inspiration”, smiles the actor.
Suriya has also registered an interesting point, “While playing Natchathira cricket, some of the actors were introduced to me by telling the list of films, they have acted. This is the reality and hence I prefer to do films, which stand unique. I might not have hit bull’s eye with 7aam Arivu or Maatrraan, but those stories weren't copied and they were original, they were first of its kind”, he says.
In ‘24’, Suriya plays a triple role and the actor says that Vikram Kumar has clear cut knowledge about the three characters. “I would say that Athreya is an author backed role and for Mani, I had to use all the charm. Vikram’s writing has a Malayalam slapstick comedy sense as well”, he adds.
Sometimes Suriya has to shoot for Athreya and Mani’s characters on the same day and he had to quickly switch between both the contrasting roles in ‘24’.
Yes, Suriya accept big budget films but why not act in good content oriented flicks with minimum budget. For instance, Kadhalum Kadanthu Pogum was first offered to him. “Talking about Kadhalum Kadanthu Pogum, haven’t watched the film yet. But Nalan himself told me that he has to make changes to bring me on board but even while watching the original, I felt that the script suits only Vijay Sethupathi”, the actor explains.
But being in a superstar status, Can Suriya really do a film like Nandha now? “See, that’s why I’ve started my own production house, 36 Vayadhinile and Pasanga 2 belongs to that category. Answering to your question— For Madras , we ensured that the budget must be less than 5cr and Karthi hasn’t got any remuneration. If we sold Madras based on Siruthai’s business, the film wouldn’t have become a profitable venture. If I want to do a film like that should control the distribution network, they shouldn't resell to other distributors for high price or else things will only fall in our head”, the actor is crystal clear in his point of view.
Suriya and Vijay share a great bond; they have complemented each other in several award functions and TV shows, in fact both of them went to the same college. “Yes, even now we have a dedicated group among our B.com and Visual Communication batch. After watching Kaththi and Thuppakki, have messaged him saying how much I liked both the films and even Jyothika and Sangeetha are good friends”, says Suriya with his charming smile.
After ‘24’, Suriya is also excited about ‘S3’ as he says that third installment will highlight the family values and he is also in talks for a film with Trivikram Srinivas.
