Mollywood actor Narain, who made a promising debut in Tamil with Chithiram Pesudhadi, consolidated his position with the action thriller Anjathe. But he went back to where he had started after acting in a dozen movies in Kollywood, which may have helped him add numbers to his kitty rather than actually propelling his career.
Narain returns now with a bang thanks to his close buddy and actor Karthi who has roped in him for a significant role in his Deepavali offering Kaithi. Narain who essays a good cop (for a change) shares his experiences with DC on working with Karthi, Lokesh Kanagaraj and the challenges involved while shooting for Kaithi.
“I may count this as the beginning of my second innings,” Narain says with a contented smile. “Karthi and I have been good friends for several years. Besides cinema, we discuss lot of things. One day he called me and said that there’s an important role in Kaithi. And he also said that it was director Lokesh who wanted Narain for the cop’s role. And he also vouched that ‘I would love this intense police role’. Within ten minutes of narration, I was so impressed that I gave my nod immediately. With Karthi, Lokesh and Dream warrior Pictures, I could rest assured.”
He was not too willing to open up about his character in the film and all he said was he essays a special task force officer and he is injured right at the beginning. A good or bad cop, we ask. Pauses for a while! “A good cop”, he says.
The entire film is a series of events that unfolds in the course of one night. “We shot mostly on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border in forest areas and shot entirely in the night. Imagine shooting from 6 pm to 6 am continuously for 50 days. It was freezing cold. It was very tough. At least, we actors would get a break in between. But the technical crew should remain there throughout and they had worked really hard. However, despite the physical strain, we enjoyed the process.”
The young actor adds, “If Kaithi becomes a hit, it will set a benchmark in the genre. Yes, for the first time in Tamil cinema, such an attempt is being made. Kaithi is a commercial movie sans female leads, songs and dance routines”.
On working with Karthi he says, “It is a delight working with him. Karthi’s character has plenty of vulnerability, light-heartedness and emotions. There are lots of intense scenes between us. We share a great understanding and hence get our shots approved in a single take. Because, given the fact that the film is shot in low light, there’s no room for retakes. There’s a space for drama as well.”
Praising Lokesh, he says, “He has lots of clarity. He is a combination of mass and class.” Ask him if his shift from hero to villainy roles led to his long hiatus in Tamil and he says. “That was much later only. When Mysshkin, who introduced me to Tamil, asked me to portray a negative role in Mugamoody, I could not say no. But what followed was a series of typecast roles, which I turned down. I am keen to do fun-filled comedy roles in Tamil, which I was fortunate to get in Malayalam cinema early in my career.”
He also reveals that he has been in discussions with Mysshkin for a possible sequel to their blockbuster action thriller Anjathe.
