Sivakarthikeyan may have risen to stardom within a short span of time. But he needs a hit now after his last two offerings Seemaraja and Mr Local received lukewarm response at the BO. He is hoping his Friday release Namma Veettu Pillai, directed by Pandiraj who introduced him to tinsel town with Marina, would do the magic.
The commercial entertainer is expected to go well with family audiences. NVP which hit the screens on Friday has an ensemble cast of Aishwarya Rajesh, Anu Emmanuel, Bharathiraja, Samuthirakani, Soori, Yogi Babu and Natraj.
“First things first. Basically, I do agree Seemaraja and Mr Local received mixed responses from critics, but the former yielded good revenues for the makers. My learning curve so far has taught me that success should not go to your head and failure should not go to your heart. That helps me to move forward and pursue my dreams; after all acting is my passion. And for this precise reason, I started my own production banner, where I have the liberty to experiment with scripts, which I cannot attempt at this stage of my career,” is how Sivakarthikeyan starts the conversation.
How did the combo of Aishwarya Rajesh essaying his sister happen? “You should ask the director. Yes, she was the lead protagonist in my debut production venture Kanaa, and she is a fantastic performer. When Pandiraj narrated to me the NVP script revolving around brother-sister bonding, he said he has someone like Aishwarya for the sister role in mind. I heard, though she was hesitant initially and gave her nod once she listened to the story.” Talking about how different NVP is from other movies in the same genre like the evergreen Pasa Malar and Kizhakku Cheemayile, he says, “When you talk about gangster films, Godfather would be referral point. And so is Pasa Malar, which is a classic. Here, the basic line has a different note and in the last 15minutes (climax), NVP’s separate identity will be established.”
On working with Pandiraj for the third time, he says, “I think I have improved a lot from Marina days (smiles). When Pandiraj sir introduced me in his own production venture Marina, many dissuaded him saying not to cast someone from TV. Still he did. You can't call me the hero in that film as the story revolved around many characters. In the second film Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga, I was one among two lead heroes. And only in this film NVP, am I the solo hero. Though he did not tell me directly, I have heard Pandiraj sir telling others that I finished all my shots in one take and even I did my dubbing so fast. It was a gratifying moment.”
Siva reveals that he became nostalgic while shooting as he recalled his own real life incidents. “I could relate to lot of scenes with my own elder sister. Especially, the wedding scene, where I get my sister married off, I had the same emotions when my elder sister got married. I am sure audiences at some point or other would connect with the film.”
Sharing his experience with ace Bharathiraja, who portrays a crucial role, he says, “I became an audience watching him perform. I was in awe of his expressions and acting while on the sets. I felt happy when he said he has watched my films and praised my effort of making a film like Kanaa.”
Heaping laurels on composer Imman with whom he collaborates for the fifth time, he says, “This varies from all other four albums. Each song has a different flavour and emotion”.
Siva, who can be vocal about various issues, says he is not keen to enter politics. “Not only actors, anyone can come to politics. But as of now, this is the right time for me to focus on cinema. I am contented with my acting and production ventures. It's a vast industry and I am learning a lot.”
