His last movie was a bust. But actor Siddharth hopes that his upcoming release Something Something might just be the next turning point in his acting career. Helmed by the acclaimed Tamil director Sundar C, known for hits like Arunachalam and Anbe Sivam, this will be the actor’s first collaboration with him. Excited about it, he shares, “This is a major year for me as I’m getting to work with some very important people. I feel like I’m going back to school.”
The film is a romantic comedy, he begins, starring Hansika Motwani and Bramhanandam, besides him. “The film has both Bramhanandam and me in equal measure. He plays as important a role as I do, and in fact, there’s twist to his character in the second half of the film. I can’t reveal much more, except that it’s probably the first time you will see him in such a role.”
The story revolves around a shy IT employee Kumar, essayed by Siddharth, who falls in love with a girl (Hansika Motwani) but fails to express it. He seeks advice from a the ‘love guru’ Premji, played to a fault by Bramhanandam. “It’s a romantic comedy and we haven’t been seeing many of them of late. It’s a very feel good film that will tickle the audience.”
Citing that most movies have alluded to the IT culture but never really dug deep, the 34-year old says that Something Something will also give a glimpse into their lifestyle. “Two of the scriptwriters on Sundar C’s team were IT employees. So they’ve added that authentic touch to the screenplay.” A geek by nature, he feels the role was almost perfect for him. “I play this shy boy who just can’t speak to girls. He’s well dressed and good looking, but for some reason, girls don’t give him a second look. I was like that in college. Once I came into movies, people came up to me and said ‘Oh, you’re so cute!’ and so on... why couldn’t they have said so a few years earlier?!” he jokes.Not a rediscovery of his younger self, the role is definitely close to his heart. “I’m sure friends of mine will watch the film and go, ‘that’s exactly him!’” Something Something is clearly the commercial success that the actor is counting on, if the title is anything to go by. Named after his hit song from his hit movie Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana, Siddharth tells us that he suggested the name after a title for the film remained elusive. “We kept calling it ‘something’ because a working title wasn’t decided upon. Finally I asked the director if we could just keep it as Something Something, since I anyway have a popular song of the same name. He liked the idea and agreed. In the movie as well, there is something something always going on, so it was apt.”
On the outset, the film almost seems like a cliché, with a plain name like Kumar, an IT background, a guy who likes a girl but is shy and a love guru named Premji. But that, Siddharth says, is the strength of the film.
“Sundar’s screenplay is just so well done, it’s a classic Ugly Duckling story. It’s a classic Princess and the Frog. It’s a well told fairy tale. And the story flow is effortless which keeps you entertained.”
With a dream sequence in Japan and some well executed cinematography to top it all, the actor is clearly more than pleased with himself. For now.
“You can never really tell whether what you’ve done is no-good or brilliant until that day when people watch your film. And sometimes they come and say, ‘Come on! How did you not spot that loophole?’ which is really the dumbest thing to say to filmmaker because they would’ve seen it at least 700 times! But you think it’ll work, hence its there in the movie.” Come tomorrow, the actor will begin work on his next project. In the pipeline is a crime comedy with Karthik Subbaraj (of Pizza fame) and a period drama with Vasanth titled (working) Emperor of Dreams. “Vasanth and I have been working on this for quite a while and I have been researching for the role for a year or so. This will probably be the most challenging role that I have undertaken.”
A meticulous planner, Siddharth explains that most work he does is divided into 80 per cent planning and 20 per cent execution. “Once I go into filming, things need to get done in a snap. For which it requires that much planning.” And with three film productions coming up next year, the actor-turned-producer has his notebook covered in scrawls. A Masters in Business Administration, Siddharth understands that a film is only as good as its returns. “I had six projects initially and now only 50 per cent of them will see the light of day. I can’t be stuck on the fact that I spent a year trying to making it work and so I will produce it. That doesn’t matter if it’s not viable.”
Being an actor looking for a challenge, but a producer handling the technicalities, and with hopes of becoming a director, the 22-movie old actor is walking a very tricky line. But ultimately a geek at heart and an avid gamer, he treats his work in just the same manner. “I will obviously look for films that will get my creative juices flowing. But at the same time, I will not take on a movie that will fail. I will create a model that will make the project work.”
For now, he hopes the allusion to former glory and a cutesy pairing of him and Hansika will make the film work.
Something Something is scheduled to release this Friday.