“It is tough to act alongside Suriya as we always fight for some silly things. On the other hand, Karthi is easy-going,” quips Jyotika about her upcoming thriller Thambi, in which she plays the reel-life elder sister to her real-life brother-in-law Karthi.
Karthi, on his part, said the real-life relationship helped a lot during the shoot. “We were very casual, but we were both determined about one thing — we wanted to finish every shot in a single take! And we were able to achieve that (laughs).”
Interestingly, the film is bankrolled by Jo’s real-life brother, Suraj Sadhana, who plugged the idea to Suriya two years ago. It is directed by ace Jeetu Joseph.
DC caught up with the amazing actors for a quick chat.
We saw you sporting different looks in the trailer. How many characters do you play in the film, we ask Karthi. “I portray only one character,” he replies. “The story starts off in Goa, for which I needed a certain look. Later, it changes to the present. Normally, I don’t meddle with my get-up. Jeetu Sir gave me lot of confidence to sport the freaky looks. I hope I have given variations in both.”
Reacting to a query on her looks, Jo says, “Though I play his akka, I wanted to look younger than Karthi.” (laughs) “And you know, cinematographer RD Rajshekar is anni’s favourite,” puts in Karthi in the same jocular vein. “Anni will look beautiful in all his films. While he sets apart one minute for my close-up shots, he takes half-an-hour for anni!”
Suriya was full of praise for the fact that both Jo and Karthi can cry without the aid of glycerine, something which is impossible for him to do. Karthi was quick to respond — “Anna is always kind and generous with us. At the end of the day, it all depends on the good writing which makes us get the right emotions.”
On working in her brother’s film,Jothika says, “I didn’t expect this. I came to the film industry at a very young age. Suraj was very young then. Later, I settled in Chennai. We only managed to converse often over phone. I am very happy that because of the shooting I could spend lot of time with my brother.”
Sharing a personal sidelight, she says, “My mom was present during the shooting. At break time, as usual, I asked her if she had had her lunch. The proud mother said ‘I am here as the producer’s mother. They took care of me so well!’”
Asked if Jeetu gave them both equal footage on screen, the reel-life siblings say in chorus, “Of course yes!”
“The entire story rides on us and each of us has his/her own space. We are at loggerheads most of the time, and when we unite, there’s a beautiful relationship that opens up. The film speaks about the importance of elder sisters. ‘Akka is yet another Amma’ is what the film’s about,” says Karthi.
“It has been an awesome experience working with a legend like Sowcar Janaki madam”, Jyotika reveals. “She is a positive person and spreads happiness wherever she is. She remains on the sets even after completing her shoots, and that kind of dedication towards work is remarkable.”
“At 88 she is still active and her energy levels are so high. She even did a small action scene without a body double”, Karthi adds.
While Nikhila Vimal plays Karthi’s pair, the movie has Sathyaraj and Seetha in key roles. Thambi is all set to hit the marquee on December 20.
