When you tell Suza Kumar that she has an unusual name, she breaks into peals of laughter. “That’s true and I have to thank my parents for that. But I am very much a Chennai ponnu and I’m thrilled to debut as an actor in a Tamil film,” she says. Suza is one of the three heroines in Ethirneechal and has dubbed for herself.
Catching up with the actor, CE discovers that the 20-year-old has a longstanding passion for cinema, though her entry into films was totally unplanned. Says Suza, “I studied at SBOA school here. Later, I did a diploma course in Cinematography from the New York Film Academy in the US and a filmmaking course at the SAE Institute in Singapore, where my father has a business. Though my parents moved to Singapore and wanted me there, I always find reasons to return to Chennai. In fact, I love this city more than the US and Singapore.”
Suza decided to undertake modelling for TVCs on a friend’s suggestion since that would give her a reason to stay in her beloved Chennai.
Before she knew it, Wunderbar Films saw her photos on the Internet and offered her a role in Ethirneechal. “My dad gave me permission to act since it was Dhanush’s production house,” she grins.
Suza plays a middle-class girl who is Sivakarthikeyan’s first love in the film directed by RS Durai Senthilkumar. “On the first day of shoot I was a bit blank, but carried it off. I have a song with Sivakarthikeyan and he made me feel comfy enough to lose my anxiety,” smiles Suza.
She has an interesting tale to recount about Sivakarthikeyan. “When I was studying in the US, I had chatted with Sivakarthikeyan who was a TV anchor then. He had been impressed that I was doing a course in Cinematography. To my surprise, when we met on the sets, he remembered me and reminded me of that chat, even after all this time,” says Suza. Ethirneechal releases this Friday.