Sunny Wayne has news for you. He is acting in Rosshan Andrrews' Kayamkulam Kochunni. The shooting has started. That's all for now. Retiring after a day's work from the sets in Bengaluru, he readied for this over-the-phone interview on the way back to his place of stay. The conversation obviously veers towards his latest Pokkiri Simon. He fit in the skin of a hardcore Vijay fan, Simon, and moreover synced well with the world inside Chenkalchoola Colony, a hotbed of Ilayathalapathy fans in the heart of the capital city. He did everything one could expect from a 'mass movie' in Malayalam. Dance, music, romance and fought shoulder to shoulder to fill the screen time and his shots were no different.
At the moment Sunny was speaking to us, his phone literally worked overtime. Calls and messages pouring in from here, there and everywhere and the actor thankfully responding to all. "I'm glad that the fun times, friends’ circle and love of a Vijay fan were conveyed to the audience. A majority responded positively about my role," he says. Sunny had been a Vijay fan in his college days. He had his share of first-day-first-show moments for the movies of Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan too. But never had he imagined that a 'kadutha aradhakan's' role was saved for him in future.
He won't swallow the credits all by himself, but thanks his director Jijo Antony, screenwriter K. Ampady, crew and the good-hearted people in the colony “The director helped me a lot with the mannerisms for Simon. During the shoot, we were surrounded by real-life Vijay fans in the place. They provided energy for us since they knew we were not faking before them," he recaps. The shoot was more like a vacation. Different from the limited period projects Sunny had been part of, Pokkiri Simon demanded him to spend five long months in Thiruvananthapuram. "A maximum of two or three months are usually spent for my film projects. This was the first time I was shooting for a movie in Thiruvananthapuram, a well-organised city. A hostel-like stay was arranged for me. It was like my days in college were back."
The stories of notoriety in the colony were the first to greet Sunny too. All that vanished into thin air in no time when he realised those people have more goodness in their hearts. "Not because we are film personalities, we felt safe to be among them. We were always greeted with a smile and friendly behaviour. They started considering us as one among them. Sometimes, they would come and ask whether we had lunch. Be it morning, noon or evening, they would huddle around the place where the shoot was happening. They were 101 per cent supportive of us," he recollects. In the meantime, the team could give a fresh lease of life to Chenkalchoola with a makeover. "We made many things so colourful. There is a 'dappan koothu' song in the film. The moment music is turned on, people would swarm in. It would raise their spirits and they fall for the tunes instantly. Their cooperation increased our confidence. A wall was painted with graffiti. It became a festival-like time with a celebratory mood," he remembers.
It was his third movie with actor Nedumudi Venu, whose presence he'd say was rewarding. This was one among the bunch of movies where the veteran actor was seen playing an out-and-out comedy role throughout. "I have a cordial relationship with him. In the past, he had handled humorous roles in movies. Venu chettan would suggest I do certain portions in a specific way and that helped me a lot," he says. Sunny has signed the sequel of Aadu Oru Bheegara Jeeviyanu - Aadu 2, and has one more movie, Kunjunni Kundithanaanu, where he plays the lead.
