Karthi, who is gearing up for the release of Va Vaathiyar on December 12, said Tamil cinema must go beyond boundaries to retain its identity. Speaking at the film’s pre-release event, he shared that he often wonders what defines Tamil films today. He said, “I always think that Telugu producers are making big films and Malayalam producers are making different films. What is the identity of Tamil films? We cannot do new things if we are afraid to try. We need to break barriers.”
The actor is returning to theaters after a year after Miyajhagan. In Va Vaathiyar, directed by Nalan Kumarasamy, he plays a character inspired by late actor and political icon MG Ramachandran. Karthi praised Nalan’s approach, saying that the filmmaker brings a unique style to Tamil cinema.
Karthi praised Nalan Kumarasamy’s approach
According to Cinema Express, calling Nalan a director with a strong fan base, Karthi said that many people ask him if he is working with Nalan. He shared, “Many directors like him. Every set I go to, they ask me, ‘Are you working on Nalan sir’s film?’ He lives the ‘thug life’ with purpose.
Karthi said that Nalan’s thoughts require time to understand, just like the filmmaker’s famous line from Soodhu Kavvam. He said, “Like his dialogue in Soodhu Kavvum, you need time to understand his thoughts. Even when you understand them, you can never imagine it.”
The actor recalled a similar experience while working on Selvaraghavan’s Aayirathil Oruvan. He explained that some scenes become understandable only after the director explains them. According to him, Nalan’s imagination operates in a “parallel world”, making the process challenging but exciting.
This is why Karthi was initially scared of signing the film
Karthi said that Va Vathiyar challenged him more than he expected. He shared, “It was a huge challenge. I hesitated and doubted whether I would be able to pull it off, but I understood that to enter the next phase we had to face our fears.”
He said that the film was risky as his character has an egotistical character inspired by MGR. “Working on Va Vaathiyar is like working on a sword. You will either win or lose badly.”
Karthi had earlier talked about the film at the 2024 Amazon Prime Video event, and described it as a fresh take on classic Indian masala cinema. He noted that the film is a tribute to the genre but with a different flavor and added that Nalan had previously introduced dark comedy into Tamil cinema.
The film stars Kriti Shetty in the lead role along with Rajkiran, Sathyaraj, Anandraj, GM Sundar, Karunakaran, Shilpa Manjunath and Ramesh Thilak. George C Williams handles the cinematography, music is by Santhosh Narayanan and editing is by Vetre Krishnan.
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