Sivakarthikeyan on comparison with Rajinikanth, Bollywood debut, and Maaveeran

As the conversation slowly veers towards Maaveeran, Siva reveals why he chose to work with director Madonne Ashwin in the first place. “I was impressed after watching his first film Mandela. It was very funny, but at the same time, it was a political satire that sent a brilliant message across. I immediately wanted to work with the director after seeing the film, and I asked him for a story. He narrated Maaveeran. We actually didn’t know Mandela would get two National Awards when we started Maaveeran. I am a comic artist in the film, who illustrates and writes this story called Maaveeran.”

Maaveeran’s trailer is intriguing, to say the least. Siva’s character Sathya keeps looking up to the sky whenever he is put on a spot, and there seems to be a connection between reality and the comic he makes for the newspaper. “I won’t reveal what’s the fantasy element as that would ruin the film. There’s a connection between his comics and what happens to him in reality. What and how of it would be a spoiler,” Siva says.

It was rumoured that Sivakarthikeyan brought down his salary to help in the making of Maaveeran. When asked why he involves himself with the production aspect of a film, Siva says, “There’s no hero in the industry who hasn’t gone through this situation. We are stuck in such a system. I acted in Rajini Murugan, made by a renowned production house, Tirupathi Brothers. To date, I haven’t received my salary for that. Similarly, I did a movie with another big production house. I had to go to court to get my money. There’s no one here to stand for me, I should do it myself.”

He adds, “It is not about my salary, but trying out good content. Madonne Ashwin’s Mandela didn’t have a theatrical release, so we have no idea about his market potential. So, it is an experiment. If I just get my quoted salary and don’t bother about the film, you don’t know if it can be made. Or if someone else would take up this socially-responsible good content.” Though it has a social message, Maaveeran is far from being preachy, assures Siva. No one in the film is going to be mouthing long dialogues and messages, he promises. However, by the end of the film, one would know what it stands for. If Mandela was about individual responsibility, Maaveeran is about what the system must do.

When asked about Advi Sesh’s claim that he is making his Bollywood debut at the Telugu pre-release event in Hyderabad, Siva laughs. “There was a miscommunication. It came across as if I am doing a straight Bollywood movie. When asked if my film with Kamal Haasan’s production house is getting a Hindi release, I confirmed it will as Sony is also collaborating with Raaj Kamal Films International. He made it sound like I am making my Bollywood debut. On top of that, I maintained one reaction to everything that happened there (because he doesn’t know the language), hoping that they are only telling good things about me.”

Sivakarthikeyan has become a bankable star in Tamil cinema, but he still chooses to work with directors who are young and upcoming. Rather than working with leading directors, the young actor seems to be taking risks with every other film betting on new directors. “If I hadn’t taken risks, I wouldn’t be here. I would have finished my MBA and settled with a day job. Also, big directors are approaching me only now. However, I will keep working with young ones. That experiment will go on.”

Later, when director-actor Mysskin spoke to the media about working in Maaveeran, the topic was again about Siva’s modesty. “We were shooting for a fight sequence, and it went for about 40 takes. After every take, Siva apologized to the stuntmen because the fight was almost real, and they took real punches. I kept watching Siva, and he apologised after every take. He need not do it. I have heard how he is a nice and humble guy, but I realised it is true.”