He came, he saw and he stole the hearts of all. It befits the brief visit of Kollywood superstar Suriya to Kochi on Thursday for the promotion of his upcoming movie, Singam II. The actor who was looking dapper in a striped white shirt, black jeans, and his macho moustache that became a rage among youngsters post Singam I, was welcomed with thunderous applause by hundreds of fans who thronged for long to have a look of the star.
Suriya, who came along with the producer of Singam II, S Lakshman Kumar, began his conversation with a huge thank you note for the Malayali audience for supporting him candidly all these years. He says, “I am delighted to visit God’s Own Country that is blessed with lush green. I have much respect for the actors and directors of the state that have contributed much towards Indian cinema.”
The actor shared fond memories about the state throughout his conversation. He says, “People here have always loved me unconditionally. 15 years ago, during the beginning of my career, I had come to Thiruvananthapuram for a film shooting. There I saw people treating actors with so much affection and respect and I thought if I would ever be able to win people’s hearts like these artists. Though now I am only 28-films-old, the love that people have showered on me makes me more responsible and it also inspires me to work harder.” He says that Friends movie released in 2001 directed by Siddique was the path breaker of his career. “Siddique sir through the movie paved my way. Similarly I have much respect for actor Dileep. In Perazhakan, I have reprised the role that he had done brilliantly in Kunjikoonan,” he says. The actor also revealed that though he was all geared up to work in a Malayalam movie, it never materialised because of date issues.
Recalling the success of Singam I released in 2010, that was a huge grosser, Suriya who has been diligently working on the sequel for the past one-and-a-half years with director Hari Gopalakrishnan says, “I have associated with director Hari for three films, and when we again thought of doing a film together, came the idea of helming a sequel to Singam. We carefully planned the movie, as we wanted to make it more better than the original.”
Suriya reveals that his character in Singam II is more fierce than the one in the original version. He says, “The roar of ‘singam’ is louder.” And true to his words, the teaser and the song sequences screened were highly action-packed. Elaborating upon the film, he says, “The sequel is helmed on a wider canvas, and has an international backdrop unlike Singam I. The hero is on a surveillance mission, and he meets a global villain amidst it.”
Suriya promises that the film starring Anushka Shetty and Hansika Motwani as heroines and Danny Sapani, Mukesh Rishi and Rahman as villains, will be a mass entertainer that can be enjoyed by all age groups.
