Can't believe now that I dared to impersonate MGR: Actor Karthi

Chennai, Dec 8 (PTI) Actor Karthi said he almost said "no" to 'Vaa Vaathiyar' film because he thought he could never be able to impersonate MGR.

Looking back at how afraid he was initially, Karthi said he can’t believe now that he had actually dared to put on the mantel of the legend.

"Just thinking about it made me sleepless at nights. The thought that I might offend his hardcore fans by my acting made me scared. But then, I also know that growth comes when we face our fears. So, one day, I called Nalan (Kumarasamy) and said, 'I am taking up your offer'," said Karthi at the pre-release event on December 7.

'Vaa Vaathiyar', second full-length feature film by Kumarasamy, is slated for December 12 release.

The film stars newcomer Krithi Shetty as the female lead. Music is by Santhosh Narayanan.

Karthi said it was partly because of Kumarasamy that he accepted the "challenging role".

Kumarasamy’s debut film, 'Soodhu Kavvum', now considered a modern cult favourite in Tamil cinema, brought out a hitherto unknown quirky side to Vijay Sethupathi, who played the lead. The film was widely praised for fresh writing, dark humour and satire on politics and crime.

Accepting the role was the beginning of his journey into "understanding" the legend that M G Ramachandran was, said Karthi.

The actor said he knew MGR was an era‑defining figure in cinema and politics, but the unconditional bond between him and his fans, even decades after his death, gave him "goosebumps" and showed him how big a personality MGR actually was.

"Every day we discovered something new about him. I literally got goosebumps at times when I heard the stories," he said.

Once they got a fair idea of the character of MGR, they worked for weeks on rehearsals, make‑up and costumes to get the body language and the look right without it becoming mere mimicry, the actor said.

In 'Vaa Vaathiyar', they have created a kind of "parallel world" around the MGR‑devotee character, Kumarasamy said.

The film is anchored around a man whose life is shaped by his obsession for MGR.

According to the cast and crew, 'Vaa Vaathiyar' is about a fun‑loving, rule‑bending cop, who was raised by his MGR-obssessed grandfather almost like MGR. The counterpoint comes when grandson’s choices clash with the grandfather’s idealised MGR image.

Kumarasamy said working on this film was like going through a "sugarcane juice extractor machine".

"I was not a fan of MGR when I began this film, I just wanted a character that people could be obsessed with. But as I began getting into it more and more, I became an admirer of him," the director admitted.

Actor Sathyaraj, the man who made his character in 'Baahubali', Kattappa, a catchphrase, said being a die-hard fan of MGR — at the pre-release event, he started an impromptu quiz, reciting dialogues of MGR, daring the audience to name the film — he could vouch for the "authenticity" of MGR being shown on screen.

"I think, between Kumarasamy and Karthi, they pulled it off," the veteran actor, who is playing an important character — possibly a baddie — in 'Vaa Vaathiyar' said. PTI JR KH