For actor Sunny Wayne, cinema is no place to achieve instant fame and money but, something he deeply cares for. “When debutant director Gopalan Manoj discussed Sarathi with me almost three years ago, I instantly got excited about the subject. So much so that I wanted to watch the film on screen even if I didn’t have a chance to be a part of it,” says Sunny about his latest release.
Throughout his chat with The Hindu Friday Review , he passionately rooted for movies with a ‘soul’ and hoped that Sarathi , in which he plays Christy, an ambulance driver, will live up to his ideal. “It is an out-and-out thriller, but is no road movie. The plot will take the viewer along on a soulful trip,” he says.
The actor has proved his mettle in a number of “youth-oriented” films such as Second Show , Nee Ko Nja Cha , Neelakasham Pachakkadal Chuvanna Bhoomi , Annayum Rasoolum , and Moshayile Kuthirameenukal . His latest outing sees him sharing screen space with seniors Nedumudi Venu and Sreenivasan, who gave him many moments to cherish, on and off camera. “They improvise so much during a shoot, and their humour is so spontaneous,” he says. The actor, who would love to get behind the camera someday, is all praise for the director too. “Not many would have the grit to pursue a dream so resolutely for so long.” On his part, Gopalan Manoj says Sunny was his first choice for essaying the hard-edged Christy.
But does the actor increasingly choose characters with a serious bend? “I don’t think so. I only want to be genuine in my approach, do roles people can relate to.” That surely could be the reason for his active presence on social networking sites. “Friends online, their criticism included, have contributed tremendously in shaping the actor in me. One only has to type ‘hi’ and press the ‘send’ button to reach out to a whole lot of people.”
That said, Sunny does not want to be categorised as a so-called new generation actor. “While a lot of experimentation is happening nowadays, most films do not stay with us for long,” he says. Scripted by Rajesh K. Raman, Sarathi isproduced by Sreekumar A.D. and will hit theatres today.
