Charuhasan sir was my first choice: Vijay Sri

Director Vijay Sri G talks to DC about his upcoming gangster flick Dha Dha 87, which marks the return of the 87-year-old actor Charuhasan, elder brother of Kamal Haasan and father of Suhasini Mani Ratnam to silver screen. An interesting aspect is that Saroja, an ex-actress and Keerthi Suresh’s grandmom, will be seen as Charuhasan’s pair.

“I wrote the script keeping Charuhasan sir in my mind. When Tamil cinema has seen actors like Ajith, Vijay, Rajini and Kamal as dons, why can’t an aged don be a protagonist? And a don is a don even when he becomes old. That way Charu Hasan sir was apt for the story,” the director says although he refused to reveal the name of the character Charu plays in the movie. 

He quickly adds, “Had ace actor Raghuvaran been alive, I would have cast him in the film.”

When asked how he convinced Charuhasan for the role, he responds, “I knew he had undergone two bypass surgeries and also fractured his leg recently. I met him and expressed my interest. He was apprehensive whether he would be able to work with his health conditions. I just told him to just give two to three hours a day for the shoot. Later when I narrated the script, he was impressed and gave his nod. He was so enthusiastic that his energy levels during the shoot were very high and was ready to do some tough jobs like traveling in a boat, getting into the rough sea, etc.” Also, on Charuhasan’s suggestion veteran Saroja was brought on board.  “There’s a romantic number for the lead pair as well,” Vijay says with a smile.

Janagaraj has been roped in to essay his friend — “He plays a crucial role as the father of the heroine, a military man and a friend of Charuhasan from his younger days.”

We hear that it is a continuation of Kamal’s blockbuster movie Sathya. After a pause the director says, “The movie has the tagline ‘I am not Sathya’ and I think it gives an answer. I can’t reveal much about it.”

Set in North Chennai, the film has young pair Anand Pandi, Sri Pallavi and the lyric video Aaradi Aandavan in Leander Lee Marty from Dha Dha 87, which was released recently is a huge hit.