HYDERABAD: Just like a superstar entry in a popular South Indian film, actor Suriya kept the waiting media waiting for a long time before finally making a stylish entry. In the city to promote his forthcoming film Sikandar, the Ghajini star appeased the Hyderabadi audience by fluently speaking in Telugu. “I have come to this beautiful city of Hyderabad after an year. The people have always given me a lot of love here. But with success comes greater responsibility and I’m happy to see that the people have received me yet again with a great amount of warmth and affection – it’s wonderful to be back here again,” said Suriya.
Fondly known as South Singham, thanks to his 2010 blockbuster Singam, he expressed delight to work with director N Lingusamy in Sikandar (Anjaan in Tamil), with whom he had wanted to work with for a long time. “From 2001, Lingu sir and I wanted to work with each other but for some reason or the other, it did not happen. I had date clashes and missed the opportunity to work with him in his first film Aanandham which went on to become a huge hit.
Later, I was supposed to work with him in Awara (Paiyaa in Tamil), which was highly successful in both Telugu and Tamil. Finally, after 12 years, I’m delighted to have got the opportunity to work with him,” shared the 39-year-old.
Though Suriya never got the chance to work with the director, his brother Karthi featured in the 2010 hit film Awara. “Karthi told me that working with Lingu sir is a lot of work and a lot of fun as well, and it was exactly like that while working on the sets of Sikandar. I highly appreciate the fact that he decided to work with me even after I missed a couple of films due to date clashes. Some directors would think that it’s a deliberate tactic from the actor – but not him. And I hope the movie turns out to be a hit,” gushed the actor, who is well known in Tollywood for films like Surya Son of Krishnan, Nuvvu Nenu Prema and Rakhta Charitra.
Speaking about his upcoming film Singham, he said, “It’s a very breezy, stylish entertainer. One of the things which gripped me about this film was its strong narrative and it was the reason why I signed this film. There are three major points which happen in Sikandar which are simply breathtaking. I have never done a film like this before,” expressed Suriya.
The actor, who has a huge fan following in both Tamil and Telugu industries, said the film can appeal to everybody.
“This is the kind of film which appeals to masses, as well as family audiences. There was a fantastic crew and wonderful technicians and fabulous actors like Manoj Bajpai,” he added.
Director N Lingusamy, on whom Suriya showered praises, promptly returned the favour. “It is my first film with Suriya. To be able to work with such a huge actor, it’s important that the script does justice to him. Thankfully, we found the kind of script which will make the most of Suriya’s talent and stardom,” he shared.
Explaining the reason behind dubbing the film in Telugu, he said, “I have complete faith in the Telugu audience. Tamil movies have always been received very well by the audience here, especially movies which has featured Suriya. His films like Ghajini and Singam have turned out to be blockbusters here and I hope the same happens with Sikander too,” he said, optimistically.
Apart from Suriya, the filmmaker also had a word of praise for the remaining crew who worked on the film. “The entire crew did an excellent job and the film was shot in 99 days. Most of the film has been shot in Mumbai. Samantha has provided the glamour to film and Brahmanandam is also there to bring some comic element,” he added.
Produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur and N Subash Chandrabose, Sikandar also stars Vidyut Jamwal in an important role. The film is set to hit screens on August 15.