He is a busy actor, producer, educationist and philanthropist; a dutiful dad, and soon-to-be a founder of a sports academy. The multitasking Suriya says that one need not be in politics to do service to people. With his much anticipated venture Pasanga 2 hitting cinema halls today, the star opens up in a candid interview .
When asked if 2D Entertai-nment would produce only offbeat flicks, Suriya’s responded, “We are trying to be unique, and are avoiding formula films. I do what the content dictates.
I take advice from my friends who are passionate about cinema. 2D will give priority to films about society; family, human emotions, kids. Amitabhji and Kamalji, for example, always surprise you with path-breaking films despite doing commercial flicks. I have been blessed with good directors who helped me pull off experimental scripts so far, Pitha-magan, Ghajini, Kakka Kakka and others. Pasanga 2 is my signal that I have started that change.”
Despite putting so much effort and experimenting with characters, sometimes films fail. “You can’t always play safe. I chose Masss as I thought its content was new to Tamil cinema. You never really know how a film will shape up, so you have to go with your gut. My upcoming movie 24 is also an experimental film, and has me in a triple role, although that was not the original intent. After Vikram narrated the script for four hours I stood up and applauded. You have to take a chance some times.”
After years of deliberation, he joined twitter. Does he see it a boon or bane? “I promote my educational endeavour Agaram more than my films. It is growing fast. At the same time it is not possible to have a press gathering every time, but a tweet lets me express myself to a large number of people.”
We hear Pasanga 2 has a message for parents. Does he spend a lot of time with his children Diya and Dev? “Children observe a lot, and absorb. Doctors say we need to give them meaningful experiences before the age of eight, be it language, skills, or hobbies. It is Jyothika who is compensating for my absence and taking care of my kids. They complain that I am always on the phone and if I tell them I have five different things to do, they say, ‘Amma also acted in 36 Vayadhinile. But she’s spending time with us’.”
Speaking about his upcoming Singam 3, Suriya says, “When we started Singam, we weren’t thinking of a second part. But whenever Hari sir and I spoke to fans, they asked for a sequel. The lead role I did of Durai Singam was a normal police officer, but people connected with it, as he was rooted in our culture. Singam 2 was found by some to be more commercial, so we are making Singam 3 more a mix of mass and class elements. Hari sir is a simple and humble person who knows his own strengths, and delivers. Every film cannot be revolutionary, and commercial films are not easy to make.”
Interestingly, Suriya says he loves doing multi-starrers. “We did films like Friends, Aitha Ezhuthu, Pitha Magan etc. I don’t know if I had closed the doors for such films. But I have not said ‘no’ to any multi-starrer script,” he smiles. Suriya strongly feels Tamil is his base. “I get offers for bilinguals, Malayalam, Telugu and few offers from Hindi as well. But somewhere, this has been my base and I feel strongly about the language I speak and I have to believe the language. Although I am in talks for a straight Telugu film too, that and Bollywood don’t give me as much motivation.”
We ask him —the way he carries yourself, multitasking various things, is there a political ambition in him? (laughs loudly) “Ask my brother Karthi who recently won the Nadigar Sangam elections! Jokes apart, we don’t need politics for doing social good,” he concludes.
Download the all new Deccan Chronicle app for Android and iOS to stay up-to-date with latest headlines and news stories in politics, entertainment, sports, technology, business and much more from India and around the world.
