Soori has carved a niche for himself as a comedian to reckon with. Rising to fame by hogging parottas in Vishnu Vishal’s Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu (that’s why he’s called ‘Parotta Soori’), he’s definitely one of the fastest rising funnymen in K’town.
Ask Soori on how it feels to be a busy person sharing the screen with top heroes, and the actor says that this is undoubtedly the best phase of his life. “I have six to seven films in my kitty, including Suriya’s S III. Whatever I am today is because of comedy. I am fortunate to have worked with actors and directors who gave me freedom to do on-the-spot improvisation with timing, dialogue delivery, and so on. It’s good to see that people like my films and have accepted me as an actor,” he says.
So, does he have plans to follow in the footsteps of his fellow comedians — who have had enough as a hero’s sidekick, and want to turn into heroes themselves? “Oh, not at all. I am quite happy and content with whatever I am doing right now. Because the current trend is that the comedians become a major part of the story and move the film forward. I’ve always been a buddy to the heroes, and have had separate comedy tracks. Say, I work with Ajith, Ajith fans like me. I work with Vijay, Vijay fans like me!” he smiles and adds that though he had offers to play a hero, he has turned them all down.
“I have personally dropped in by those directors/producers’ offices to thank them for first considering me for the role of hero. But honestly, I can never imagine myself playing one. And I never wanted to become a leading man,” he tells us.
But not many know that before he ventured into movies, he performed stage plays with his friends. “That was actually a long ago. But I don’t want to restrict myself to doing only comedy. I want to do more character roles like Nagesh,” he says.
When asked about his spontaneity, Soori explains, “I got it from my dad! He’s known as the funniest man in my village. I don’t think I am even five per cent of my father. To date, his compliments and words mean a lot to me. I also pick up stuff from the people I interact with on a daily basis. I think everybody does it. Nobody can really claim to have created comedy on their own. I am generally observant by nature. I see people talk, how they react, and then I learn.”
Query Soori on his best friends in the industry, and he chuckles, “I like everybody with whom I have worked so far. Starting from Vishal to Sivakarthikeyan. But Siva and I are quite close,” he says. What’s next? “Comedy is serious business and I think I need to work on pulling off urban roles in a better way,” he concludes.
