''PEOPLE SLOT ME AND SAY THERE ARE NO APPROPRIATE ROLES FOR ME''

Guru Somasundaram of Aaranya Kandam and Jigarthanda fame will be seen as the lead in director Raju Murugan’s film titled as Joker. The terrifically talented actor talks exclusively to behindwoods on the film, his role and the shooting process:

What made you accept this film?
I accepted it primarily because it was a lead role. Secondly, I liked the story a lot.  It is not that I accepted the film because I was going to be the lead; it is also because I liked the story. I knew that there was ample scope for performance. I have earned a name as a character artist, but I also was apprehensive if I could pull off a lead role. That hesitation got cleared after doing Joker.

Have you completed shooting?
99% of the shooting is completed. Just a little patch work is left to be wrapped up.

What are your other projects?
After this film, I have not signed any. However, I had already finished Pambu Sattai, Kuttramae Dhandanai, Yakkai and Odu Raja Odu.

We don’t see you much on screen. Is it because you are choosy about your films?
You can say that! Only selective roles come to me. You can also say that there are not enough audiences who come to see me on screen. People slot me and say that there are no appropriate roles for me. They themselves decide that I would do only specific roles. Filmmakers feel that they should not waste my talent and state that they would write a role for me and then call.

Working with Raju Murugan
Working with Raju Murugan was very good and organic. When I say organic, I mean the procedures involved in film making, which included exhaustive script discussions. In the pre-production stage itself, we decided on everything, from the look of a character to the manner of dialogue delivery to the costumes to everything. We completed 90% of the film through rehearsals and then only went to shoot. It was fantastic working with a director like Raju Murugan who is very clear about what he wanted.

Wishing you the best with Joker!

Jyothsna Bhavanishankar

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