This is a busy year for Ganesh Venkatraman with four films in the making and he is enjoying every bit of it. “The best part is I am playing diverse characters that give me scope to explore what I am really capable of doing. For instance, in Achharam which is currently underway in Kodaikanal, I play the lead with Poonam Kaur as the heroine. Being a racy thriller, my character has both good and grey shades,” says Ganesh. Mohan Krishna, an associate of Radha Mohan, has specially written this role for Ganesh who plays an ideal son to Rekha’s mother role. “This is a commercial film and I am even performing to a ‘kuthu’ song composed by Srikanth Deva.” In Hindi film Guns of Benares , Ganesh reprises Daniel Balaji’s role in the original Tamil Pollathavan . “Then there is Jayam Ravi’s film in which I play the role of a friend. The film about friendship is largely shot in the scenic Uttaranchal.” He plays the role of a cop in Pallikoodam Pogamaley , which sends out a strong message about the education system. “More of this at a later date,” says Ganesh.
A superhero film next
With the completion of Naan Sigappu Manithan , director Thiru has notched up three Vishal-starrers under his belt — Theeratha Vilayattu Pillai and Samar being the other two. Does that make Thiru a favourite with Vishal? “Not really. There is a comfort factor between Vishal and me and he is a professional actor who will take up a role only if it convinces him. Vishal’s character in NSM is unique.” So, what’s next on his story board? “I have always wanted to make a superhero film and have been working on a story for some time now. I have Vijay on mind for this role and will make it when his dates are available to me. Film goers of all age groups love superhero films,” says Thiru.
Siddarth on a roll
The Kaaviya Thalaivan is blowing hot and cold in Jigarthanda . Siddarth is on a roll with director Vasanthabalan’s period drama Kaaviya Thalaivan in which he is paired with Vedhika and Karthik Subbaraj’s Jigarthanda in which he shares screen space with Lakshmi Menon. Vasanthabalan’s film is based on theatre artistes of yore who portrayed patriotic characters during the independence struggle, while Karthik Subbaraj has written an interesting role of a filmmaker for Siddarth in Jigarthanda . Says Karthik: “I can only say that Jigarthanda is a musical gangster film set in Madurai.” Now, that’s a new genre!
