Rajinikanth at Petta launch: Vijay Sethupathi is not a good actor, he is a great one
The audio launch of Rajinikanth’s upcoming film Petta took place on Sunday in Chennai, where the actor spoke about the film, his costars and the crew.
Actor Rajinikanth -- who is enjoying a successful box office run with 2.0 -- is now looking forward to the release of Petta, directed by Karthik Subbaraj. At the audio launch of the film on Sunday, Rajini called Petta an action-packed film that has been treated realistically. He said, “Karthik took to me back to the 80s and 90s with this film. You all know he is a big fan of mine, so when he spoke about each shot, it was everything that the fans wanted to see me doing. It was possible for me to do all of that at the age of 69 because of my unit.”
Calling Karthik a soft-spoken man, Rajini said he felt the shooting went like a cricket game with everyone delivering what was asked of them. “They used to playfully discuss everything, and yet remain true to the direction of the story. Karthik’s sense of screenplay and his talent with storytelling is his weapon of choice, just as Shankar has now come to be associated with big-scale cinema.”
The actor started by praising the film’s producer, Kalanithi Maran of Sun Pictures, with whom he has earlier worked in Enthiran. Rajini also praised the rest of the cast, specifically Vijay Sethupathi. “When they told me about this one character called Jithu, I couldn’t picture anyone doing it. Then they asked me how about Vijay Sethupathi, and I was unsure if he would say yes but he did. I have seen his films and realised that he was a good actor, but only after I got to know him on the sets did I realise that he was not just a good actor but a great one. After a long time, I had the experience of working with someone like him.”
He spoke about the villain of the film, played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui. “I don’t have to say much about Siddiqui. You all know he is something different. He has done this role in an interesting, unique manner too.”
He also spoke of Sasikumar, who will play the role of Mallik in Petta. “In my experience of 30 to 40 years, he is a very nice guy. He is a kid at heart and I wish he would just act and be happy, and not produce.”
He said Petta’s female lead, Trisha, has not changed with success. “She is as she was in the past. Initially, I was hesitant because she is a big actor and I was not sure about her doing a role with no song and not much footage. Later, I heard that she was interested in the role and I am happy she is onboard.”
He then said how he was shy to do a duet initially with Simran, explained that Petta is a commercial film that everyone could watch and enjoy. He also praised cameraman Thiru and Karthik Subbaraj. Petta is slated to release for Pongal 2019 when it will clash at the box office with Ajith’s Viswasam.
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