I watched Santhanam’s videos to play a comical villain in Sillukuvarpetti Singam: Soundararaja

Actor Soundaraja is one person whom you can call a good script doctor. Tell him a story and the man can instantly tell you if it will work at the box office or not.

After all, he has been a part of two of the biggest hits this year at a time when just two or three Tamil films succeed for every 100 films that are made. Interestingly, both his films that have succeeded overwhelmingly this year have ‘Singam’ as part of their title.

Yes, the gifted character artiste was a part of Karthi’s Kadaikutty Singam as well as the last hit of the year, Vishnu Vishal’s Silukkuvarpatti Singam.

While he played a tough serious villain in Kadaikutty Singam, Soundaraja played a comical villain in Silukkuvarpatti Singam, showcasing a completely different facet. Needless to say, both his performances have come in for praise.

Talking exclusively to CineObserver.in, Soundararaja says, “I had just finished Oru Kanavu Pola and was worried what I would do next. Although the critics praised my work, not many in the audience knew about the film.It was at that time that I got a call from director Pandiraj’s office. I was so glad that they called. They told me that they would like me to be a part of Pandiraj’s Kadaikutty Singam as I fit the role of the heroine’s uncle. I liked it and said I would be happy to do it if the story that was told to me was to be reproduced on screen. Minutes after hearing the script, I told them that this film would certainly be a roaring hit. That came true.”

Soundaraja goes on to explain. “Eighty percent of my judgement is accurate. I have done 30 films so far. Off these, seven are films that have run for a 100 days in theatres. The other films too have all done reasonably well at the box office,” says Soundararaja, who goes on to talk about the comedy

Silukkuvarpatti Singam in which he had to play a comical villain.

“The biggest challenge for me in Silukkuvarpatti Singam was that in the initial portions of the film, I would be portrayed as a tough character.All that would have to change suddenly into becoming comical towards the climax. That transformation was slightly difficult. But I am glad that all those who saw me liked my performance. I had to prepare for this role and I did it by watching actor Santhanam’s videos as homework.”

The man has pleasant memories from both these film sets as the year draws to a close.

Ask him to recall one pleasant experience about working on Kadaikutty Singam and he says, “I am a theatre artiste. So, I can easily play characters that have strong emotions. The only challenge with regard to Kadaikutty Singam were the action sequences. They were a challenge not because of the difficulty of the fights but because there were sequences where I had to really deliver thrust kicks to Karthi sir. However, Karthi sir was so co-operative and accomodating. He would see me hesitating in the action sequences and come over and tell me, ‘Don’t hesitate to deliver a thrust kick on my chest. Even if it hurts me, it is okay. The scene has to come out well.’ When a top star gives you that kind of space to work, it is fantastic. We already had a great understanding because we had worked together in the Nadigar Sangam. This project only strengthened that bond.”

Soundararaja also says that Karthi is a great script doctor himself and a sensible creator. ” I worked with him for 35 days on that project and each day, he would be very open to suggestions and very careful about even the minute details of the film. Initially, I was hesitant if they would accept my suggestions. But then, Karthi sir was very accomodative and open to suggestions. When I had a suggestion to say about a song, he patiently heard me out and discussed and explained to me why they were going with a particular decision. A very accomodative actor and a good creator,” says Soundararaja, who has a bunch of interesting projects to release in 2019.

If his predictions keep coming true, Soundararaja is bound to have more hits in 2019 than he had in 2018!