Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru is your first full-length cop film. Is it fair to describe a star’s first cop film as ‘coming of age’?
It is. It’s very important to play a police role convincingly. It ups you in your career. Even Siruthai, in which I played a cop in one of the roles, was a gamechanger.
In many films, you’ve played the conman. Those roles might offer you a certain amount of flexibility, but a cop role is the opposite of that…
In the process of preparing for my film, I wondered why most cops are uptight and stiff. They go through rigorous training and this is what turns a normal man into a policeman. In Theeran... , I play a DSP who has written a group one exam and is then totally transformed due to that one year of training. He’s made to sit upright and made to climb up a rope. So he’s put through the toughest of routines to become a cop. For me, even to play this role has meant that I’ve become fitter. I can do a five-minute plank now. But I don’t think that stiffness extends to his personal life. When he goes home, he’s a father. We’ve highlighted that difference in the film.
What were the cop roles you idolised while growing up?
Alex Pandian from Moondru Mugam … that’s unforgettable. Even the villain in that film (played by Senthamarai) was quite memorable. Other cop films I’ve loved are Kamal sir’s Kuruthipunal,Chatriyan, Kadamai Kanniyam Kattupaadu and Kaakha Kaakha . In Hindi, I look up to Ardh Satya and Ab Tak Chhappan . Of course, you can’t let the baggage of these films affect you.
What led you to accepting Theeran... , which is based on a real-life police investigation?
It played out like what happens in the film Magadheera . I was repeatedly hearing about one particular case wherever I went. It was too coincidental when the same case finally landed up with me in the form of a script. Also, it came from director Vinoth, whose Sathuranga Vettai was a film I enjoyed.
Usually, there’s a superhuman angle with which we approach cop films. But this one isn’t like that. In this, he’s vulnerable and confined within the system. Until I did this movie, I didn’t know there were police officers who work 22 hours a day. We only see the corrupt side of them, but there are just as many cops who take it as a matter of pride that they work for the police. Without those people, there would be no law and order.
You’re playing a police role just after you’ve played a pilot. You seem to love wearing uniforms.
What really worked out for me was that I had lost weight for Kaatru Veliyidai and it suited my role in this film as well.
How have you managed to attract both senior directors as well as the new ones?
At one point in my career, I realised that I must always listen to scripts. I think people need to understand the amount of emotions I can pull off. I want films I’m offered to have these dimensions. It’s important that one remains open and accessible.
What were your learnings from Mani Ratnam’s Kaatru Veliyidai ?
It gave me the confidence that I could transform myself into someone else. After the film, I looked like VC and I enjoy it when people tell me they hated me in it. Mani sir had told me that this wasn’t a regular film and that he was experimenting and that I must be open to criticism. People expected Alaipayuthey though I kept saying that it wasn’t just about a love story. In fact, there were many girls who put up the question after watching the movie ‘How do you expect a girl to live with this man?” But I think he went to her to say sorry.
I also got a lot of messages where girls said that they saw their husband or boyfriend in my character. Even otherwise, it’s no Bible for someone to base your life on. It’s a story.
