After Kamal Haasan who was the first from south industry to direct his actress daughter Shruti in Sabaash Naidu, it is ‘Action King’ Arjun Sarja’s turn now. Aishwarya Arjun made her debut alongside Vishal in Pattathu Yaaniai a few years ago. Arjun, who has directed more than 13 films and is known for patriotic themes, has chosen a power packed character for his daughter Aishwarya with Solli Vidavaa, which is a romantic story set against the backdrop of the Kargil war.
“I narrated three stories to Aishu, but she loved Solli Vidavaa script. The movie is set in 1999. The hero (Chandan Kumar) and the heroine are journalists who work in rival TV channels. They happen to go on a particular assignment together. They witness the pains and sacrifices made by the army personnel. They get close and fall for each other. It’s a love story handled in a different way,” Arjun explains.
Were you tough with your daughter on the sets, we ask. “No never! Being an actor myself, I know artistes are very sensitive. I have also undergone the situation. So, I will never raise my voice. And we shared a professional equation on the sets. She is my lead girl and I am her director. That’s all (laughs).”
The Mudhalvan star says that he has given Aishwarya a challenging role despite it is her second venture. “It is highly performance oriented character and I did a workshop to break the ice. She prepared well and took one or two takes only during the actual shoot. She also has many action sequences, and of course I took safety measures.”
Ask Aishwarya as how she felt acting in romantic scenes, pat she replied. “Initially, I had a mental block. But, he gave me lot of freedom and space and that I came to normalcy soon. It was brilliant working with him.” On her references she says, “Bharka Dutt was the only TV journalist who went to Kargil during war. I watched her videos.”
Commenting on actors coming to politics Arjun said, “Anyone with a service mind can come to politics.” While Arjun appears in a cameo as an Anjaneya devotee in SV, which is his 152nd movie as an actor, the flick, scheduled to hit the marquee on Feb. 9, has been shot in Dharmsthala, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kerala, Mumbai, Switzerland, and Italy.
