Working with Fahadh Faasil and Nayanthara was a learning experience: Sivakarthikeyan

Sivakarthikeyan and Fahadh Faasil may play friends turned foe in their upcoming film Velaikkaran, but the two share a great bond off screen. The two have been heaping praises upon each other, so much so, Siva confessed that he hasn’t bonded with any coactor like he did with Fahadh Faasil. From Siva readily agreeing to do a movie in Malayalam if it was alongside Fahadh, to their discussions about life, the two actors opened up to discuss their movie, work equation and more at an event in Kochi.

When asked about working with Fahadh, Siva said, “I have learnt a lot, especially from brother Fahadh Faasil. You all would have seen his work in Malayalam, but his role in Velaikkaran is something that he hasn’t done before. Initially, I wondered how I would measure up to him, but Raja had written the characters and the scenes so beautifully that I feel I have done justice to the role.”

Given this is his Tamil debut, did Fahadh feel any pressure? Siva chose to answer this for the actor, “There would be eight to nine page dialogues at a few stretches, but he didn’t feel any pressure at all.”

Fahadh, however, felt it wasn’t that simple and he initially faced trouble because as an actor he was thinking in a different language. “I even discussed about this with the director and he reassured me by saying that it’s just a language and I should work on the film,” he explained.

“I had fun shooting for the film,” he said, and explained that he would write the long dialogues in English and read them.

Fahadh and Siva were then asked about their experience of working with Nayanthara. Fahadh answered, “We only worked together for two days. I must say she is very professional, down to earth and women are going to love her character in the film.”

Sivakarthikeyan explained how Nayanthara has grown to be a top star who has created a space for women-centric films. “Young women who aspire to be actors want to become like her and it was a great learning experience for me to work with her and Fahadh,” he said.

Talking about fan clubs and the importance they enjoy down south, Siva said, “Fans clubs are important to consolidate all the people who love me and when I do films, I take feedback from them.”

There is a buzz that Fahadh plays the antagonist in the film but he refused to let that one out. “Whether I play the antagonist or not is something that should be revealed in theaters. One thing I can certainly say is that both of us give a different perspective to being (blue-collar) worker.”

Siva explained that so far he has only attempted films that entertain audience. “Velaikkaran is something that I have never attempted. I play the role of a worker, Arivu. His life, the questions that are raised through the transitions of his life is something that will connect with everyone. It is a serious film,” he said, adding he approached director Mohan Raja after watching Thani Oruvan.

“I was interested in working with Raja after seeing Thani Oruvan. I explained that I wanted to work on something that discusses an issue from the everyday life like in Thani Oruvan and that’s how we got Velaikkaran. Raja sir is also so hardworking,” he said.

What was it like behind the scenes and how did the actors work together? Sivakarthikeyan said that he has never bonded with another co-actor like he did with Fahadh. He recounted with a smile, “We shot a long schedule in a factory and there were no caravans for us. So Fahadh, a few other actors and I used to share this room and the two of us can be mostly seen discussing life and such.”

This bond is quite visible at the press meet. Even when he was asked if he would star in a Malayalam film, Fahadh jumped in to say that they will star together in the film. Siva readily agreed and said, “Brother, you will take care of me, right?”

Siva was then asked about his successful collaboration with composer Anirudh. One of the reporters even asked if there was romance between them, leaving everyone in splits. Siva quickly says that they are brothers who have mutual affection. “One big reason why it works for us is because I don’t restrict him or request him for anything. Whatever he composes is what we use. Songs and tunes, it’s purely his work and his magic. The mutual affection does lead to him going beyond,” he said.