Sudhi goes through endless loops of shame and anxiety everyday. Each time a stranger approaches, he turns a nervous wreck, ready to sidestep and flee. The hero of Ranjith Sankar’s ‘Su Su Sudhi Vathmeekam’ is someone you know - the man with the stammer who shies away from small-talk. “Sudhi is no typical hero material, but an ordinary man with an impairment,” says Jayasurya about his latest screen avatar.
The actor, who wooed the audience with some riveting performances in films like ‘Iyobinte Pusthakam’ and ‘Apothecary’, says Sudhi is the most challenging role in his entire acting career. “I had no on-screen reference point and couldn’t completely fall back on real-life examples. And, then there are some subtle mannerisms others can hardly detect,” he says.
Jayasurya says for people like Sudhi each day is an array of hurdles that exhaust them emotionally. “They are not prepared for unfamiliar situations and are quite unwilling to change their routine. In Sudhi’s case, he keeps his watch in his pocket so that nobody asks him the time. When your entire focus is on your weakness, your confidence level will be low. But if you can overcome that it changes your life,” he says.
In the film, Jayasurya portrays Sudhi at different phases of his life, from a youngster in his twenties to a middle-aged man. “That again was a difficult part. As the character ages, his stammer changes from one form to another. And there are different variants - his angry stutter will be dissimilar to his speech when emotional. It was hard to get the nuances right. It demanded a lot of effort from my part,” he says. The actor adds that even dubbing for the character turned out to be a tough task. “I usually take one or two days to dub a movie. But here, I had to spend more than a week at the studio getting my voice correct,” he says.
Jayasurya, who is also the producer of the film, says he was floored by the positivity and motivating quality of the film.
“As an individual, I look for possibilities during hard times. If this can motivate somebody like Sudhi and instil in him some confidence, that will be the biggest achievement of the film,” he says.
‘Su Su Sudhi Vathmeekam’ is scheduled for a November release.