Having been recognised for his role in director Naveen’s Moodar Koodam, actor Rajaji is now awaiting the release of director Ramu Chellappa’s Enkitta Mothathey. The story revolves around Natty and Rajaji who play Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan’s cut-out artists respectively. After getting postponed several times, the flick is finally hitting the marquee on March 24.
Talking about his role, Rajaji says, “I play Nallaperumal, who is an ardent fan of Kamal Haasan. My job is to sketch his cut-out pictures. It is an emotional character who values his family more than anything else. Since the story is set in the 1980s, director Ramu asked us to take references from films like Kaaki Sattai. Obviously, I wouldn’t be able to imitate Kamal sir, so I tried to imbibe his mannerisms in my character.”
Enkitta Mothathey was shot entirely in Tirunelveli in a span of 40 days. “There is a particular scene where Natty and I would paint the cut-out of actor MGR to get recognised in the village. We were waiting for the shoot to begin that day and realised that people living in the village started worshipping the actor’s poster. It shows the respect that people still have for MGR,” shares the actor.
All the cut-out photos are painted by an artist called Sigamani. “We wanted our painting to look authentic on screen. So, we learnt the brush strokes, shading, the use of colours, from Sigamani. It was nice sharing screen space with Parvathi Nair and Sanchita Shetty. I share a brotherly relationship with Sanchita,” he concludes. Rajaji’s upcoming film includes Kolanji and an untitled project produced by director Naveen.
