‘Rajini Murugan’ to ‘Remo’, but still the boy next door

Entertainment,

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Tamil actor Sivakarthikeyan remains as grounded and unassuming as during his days as a stand-up comedian and television anchor.

When an ace cinematographer like P.C. Sreeram praises an actor who has been in the industry for hardly five years as an entertainer in the mould of Shah Rukh Khan or Salman Khan, it is worth more than several awards.

But Tamil actor Sivakarthikeyan remains as grounded and unassuming as during his days as a stand-up comedian and television anchor even as he carries his boy-next-door persona on the screen off it as well.

In the city for the promotion of his new film Remo, Sivakarthikeyan chose to interact with the media at the Press Club here rather than in a swanky hotel as is the wont with other stars of the Tamil industry when they come for promotional events.

Directed by Bakkiyaraj Kannan, the film teams him up with Keerthi Suresh from his last film Rajini Murugan and sees the actor donning the role of a female nurse as well. The film releases with some big Malayalam releases such as Mohanlal-starrer Pulimurugan.

“You should definitely watch them first since they are all such big stars. But it’s holidays and you will definitely have time to watch Remo with your family,” said Sivakarthikeyan.

“Remo is a romantic comedy suitable for audience of all ages with the right mix of humour, romance, songs, dance and fights,” he said. The actor said he was humbled on getting to work with two stalwarts, Oscar Award-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty and cinematographer P.C. Sreeram, during the making of the film, which he said gave him invaluable lessons.

Asked about the danger of being typecast for doing films of the same genre, Sivakarthikeyan said he chose films in which directors and producers have confidence. “I cannot completely ignore humour since that is what the audience have come to expect from my films,” he said, even as he expressed optimism of getting to experiment with new genres as he progresses in his career.

The actor has sung in four of his past films. “The director was intelligent and didn’t let me sing,” was his repartee when asked why he chose not to sing in his new film.