The world of Khansaar is huge and all the characters that Prashanth Neel places within it have a poignant role to play in the twist and turn of events. Bobby Simha, who plays Bhaarava in Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire, says that the world of Khansaar was beyond anything he could imagine.
“Prashanth called me when I was shooting for Thadai Udai. I flew to Hyderabad to listen to the story. If you look at his story, it is something beyond fantasy. If we imagine the visuals to be something, they turn out to be even grander on screen. It is a different world altogether. I was amazed,” he recalls.
As Bhaarava, Simha juggles multiple crucial roles and is responsible for the change in the atmosphere in Khansaar. Sharing his experience working with the director, he says, “Prashanth told me about my character arc and said everyone will understand why he cast me in such a role after watching the film. Prashanth is an extremely cool and cheerful person. I love that he treats everyone with respect and makes them comfortable. He is very focussed, dedicated and is strong about what he wants while getting the job done.”
This year also saw the release and glorious reception of Karthik Subbaraj’s Jigarthanda Double X, the spiritual sequel to the original starring Simha in an unmissable role as gangster ‘Assault’ Sethu. The role earned him the National Award for Best Supporting Actor that year. “When Karthik narrated the story for the first time, I wanted to play that role as I was deeply connected to the character. He told me that it would be difficult to carry it as the character was a 48-year-old gangster. But I believe that if we trust and wish for something deeply, we will get it, so I ended up playing the role eventually,” he says.
Interestingly, he reveals that he wasn’t aware of the sequel’s connection to his character in the climax. “I was emotional and surprised by how it all connected in the end. Some of my friends had called and told me that I could have played Alliyus Caesar’s role, but Raghava Lawrence and SJ Suryah had done more than justice to their characters,” he notes.
After working with Rajinikanth in Petta, Bobby Simha has shared screen space with Kamal Haasan in Shankar’s yet-to-be-released Indian 2. “We can learn a lot from Kamal sir and his improvisations on set. We have not realised his worth. Every day is a learning on the set and I constantly exclaim, ‘What a man’. The way he gets into the skin of the character is unmatchable,” he elucidates.
Although he refuses to divulge details about his role in the film, he says that he is excited for the audience to see the film and his character, adding that he is honoured to work with the Enthiran filmmaker. Although he has essayed villains and police roles, the Iraivi actor has not played the role of a typical commercial hero yet.
When enquired about the same, he says, “I had the thought which led me to start my home production. We tried experimenting with my first film Vasantha Mullai, but later released that this wouldn’t work out. Next was Thadai Udai, directed by Rakesh NS. The film is in the post-production stage and we’re planning to release it next year. It is a family entertainer and will encompass all the elements of a commercial film.”For Simha, the exploration is still on to choose a character that satiates his thirst as an actor.
“I have not attained satisfaction yet and want to try more roles. I love Vikram’s character arc in Mani Ratnam’s Raavanan. It will be fascinating to dive into such a role,” he signs off.