Exclusive! I think projects have now started choosing me, says Vadandhi star SJ Suryah

SJ Suryah seems to be riding on a career high as far as his acting career is concerned. The multi-faceted star has tested waters as a lead actor and villain, experimented with comedy, romance, taken the plunge into serious and quirky roles and has the audience eating out of his hands every time he appears on screen. Even as his kitty seems to be overflowing with a series of projects including RC15, Jigarthanda Double X, Uyarndha Manithan, Mark Antony and Bommai, he has dived into the digital space as well with the neo noir crime thriller, Vadandhi: The Fable of Velonie helmed by Andrew Louis. His nuanced performance in the series has won him appreciation from all quarters. In a chat with OTTplay, SJ Suryah talks about his experience working in Vadandhi and why the series is close to his heart.

You must be overwhelmed with the response to the series...

Yes, I am basking in the success of the series. It's good to see the audience across the world enjoying the show. We are getting such fabulous responses from everyone.It makes me very happy.

Your character SI Vivek is a cop who does not dole out any punch dialogues or do any high-octane stunt sequences. What made you take up the role?

I think today, the screenplay has evolved to a great extent and people are no longer looking forward to gravity-defying stunt sequences, and 'mass-y' scenes where you open the door of a jeep in slow motion and dust engulfs the air as you step out of it. It works to an extent for big heroes. But otherwise, it feels wrong. And when you are not convinced about something, it's not worth the struggle.

And what about the punch dialogues..

Director Andrew sir has come up with an ingenious plan. Instead of resorting to straight punch dialogues, he has incorporated powerful and effective dialogues, like, 'Unmai Nadakkum Poi Parakkum' (Truth walks, lie flies). I think this is the greatest punch dialogue of the decade (laughs). The Kanyakumari dialect has made the show all the more special. When you deliver these compelling lines in the dialect, peppered with some emotions, they become a firecracker of sorts.

What's more interesting is that most of these dialogues have been extracted from day-to-day conversations and there is a philosophical touch to them! For instance these lines, "An exceptionally good man and an extremely bad man behave in the same manner and you can never find their real personality' and 'A person sheds tears when he or she is on cloud nine, and when he feels utterly dispirited'. These lines have so much to say. In the small town set-up in Vadandhi, gossip is a pivotal part of people's lives. I am not judging them or stating that the local dialogues are wrong, but conversations are a crucial part of the plot.

The story delves into many other aspects as well, including the struggles of a single woman raising a teenage daughter, the daughter recognising the kind of effort her mother is putting in to raise her, how the society looks at them, how the mother's life turns topsy turvy when her only daughter is murdered, how she copes with the incident etc. The audience doesn't see these as isolated incidents on screen, but they resonate with them as they can happen to anyone. When you have such great moments, there's no need for me to deliver any 'mass' dialogues.

Your recent roles, be it in Maanaadu, Don or Vadandhi, your characters have a certain sense of quirkiness to them. In Vadandhi, you get obsessed with the Velonie case. Do you intentionally take up such roles?

Not really! It's just that these characters demand such obsession. For instance, my character in Maanaadu, DCP Dhanushkodi, is very cool at the outset. But the incidents around him make him a bad person. In Vadandhi, Vivek begins the investigation like a regular cop. As he pores over the case, he realises that he has a certain responsibility towards Velonie. He has to find out who killed her, deal with the rumours about her, think about how they impact the family. The human being inside him begins to overshadow the cop. The obsession begins when he decides that he has to somehow solve the case and provide justice to Velonie.

The Kanyakumari dialect has become one of the talking points of the series...

The credit goes to the writer, Meeran Maideen, who acted as my senior in the series. He is based out of Kanyakumari. I don't how Andrew sir got hold of him, but he has been extremely supportive during the journey. If you look at the names of places in Kanyakumari, they are uncanny, too, like Thakkala, Eraniel, Kolachal, Marthandam. Their dialect is interspersed with Malayalam. It's a dialect where both languages traverse together. Since I hail from Tirunelveli, I was 50 per cent comfortable with the dialect. But the rest of it, I had to brush up.

You had stated earlier that direction was a stepping stone to your acting career. Now that you have experimented with a variety of roles, are you satisfied with your acting stint?

I am satisfied now because it's taking me on the right path to my destination. But yes, the destination is still a long way away. I am happy with the way things are shaping up on the acting front. I think projects have now started choosing me. In fact, I didn't plan any of these characters, be it in Vadandhi, Maanaadu or Don. And when the right projects are knocking at your door, it's like a god-sent opportunity. You don't say no to them. When good things are happening, I am just allowing it to happen. It also feels like feasting on biryani from home.

Are you looking forward to doing any role in particular?

No, I don't have any dream roles. But at the same time, I don't want to restrict myself to any.

Andrew Louis is your erstwhile assistant. How was it teaming up with your student?

Oh, that was a long time ago. Today, I have got such a wide reach because of him. Andrew sir knows the craft very well. When I read the script, it was goosebump-inducing. He has become so good that I forgot that he was my assistant director at one point of time. In fact, I became his fan after watching the eighth episode. In Vadandhi, things are a rollercoaster ride from episode one to seven, and the tension reaches a crescendo in the eight episode. He simply rocked it.

How was working in a web series when compared to films?

Well, the efforts you put into the story are the same. Amazon Prime has spent a lot of money for the publicity of the series. It has got a great reach and I have got a fabulous launch, much bigger than the movies itself. I am loving it.

Has direction taken a backseat now?

Well, I never wanted to be a director at all. But I haven't hung up my boots yet and I am directing a movie called Killer. It has a nice concept and we will have a special conversation about that.