Sivakarthikeyan on Amaran, creating a lasting legacy for Major Mukund Varadarajan: ‘His daughter should know she had a great father’

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‘Amaran was an opportunity to live the life of my father’

Rajkumar Periasamy’s Amaran is the first time Sivakarthikeyan is starring in a biopic. Although he has donned the khaki before, this is the first time he is playing an Army officer. Interestingly, the Kanaa actor revealed that the driving force for accepting Amaran was the memories of his late father, who was a police officer. “My father was a jail superintendent. For the past two decades, I’ve only been living with his memories, and the film offered me an opportunity to be him. I knew I had to do Amaran,” said Sivakarthikeyan.

Revealing that his dad was the reference for the physical nature of the character, Sivakarthikeyan said that Rajkumar’s meticulous planning ensured he could get into the mind of Major Mukund too. “We met his family, seniors and friends from the Army. They gave us insights into his character. I understood that he was a very happy person, who wore his emotions on his sleeves.”

‘I used to feel anxious and pray for the safe return of our soldiers’

Major Mukund was part of the Rashtriya Rifles squad, and the makers of Amaran shot in various live locations in Kashmir. In fact, they shot in the same locations where he was deployed, which meant that Team Amaran got time to interact with a lot of real-life soldiers. With prior permission from the Indian Army, they got to shoot in sensitive areas, and also use real weapons, of course without real bullets. “They casually live with the weapons. There are AK-47 guns, and grenades lying around, and there was a sense of nonchalance among the soldiers. I was allowed to handle real weapons, and I found it lighter than the dummy weapons used in cinema. I understood that, for soldiers, the weapons just feel like an extension of the body, and I had to bring that facet in my performance. Also, even when shooting for the film, we knew that the real soldiers were part of actual military operations,” said Sivakarthikeyan, who strongly believes that Rajkumar’s penchant for authenticity has elevated the film.

The actor shared that he spoke with a lot of Tamil soldiers, whose casual demeanour about death and loss unsettled him. “They were candid about being away from family and home, and how all of them have come to terms with being absent from home on important occasions. The way they spoke about how a fellow soldier who spent days and nights with them died on duty unsettled me. They said it affected them for one night, and the next day, they were back on another mission,” said an emotional Sivakarthikeyan.

‘A senior officer told me that I was in the wrong profession’

Even though Sivakarthikeyan has constantly experimented with the content in his films, they have largely been family entertainers playing to his strengths in comedy. However, bringing to life the story of Major Mukund Varadarajan pulled him out of his comfort zone. Considering he has three distinct looks, it must have been physically and mentally taxing to step into the huge boots of Major Mukund. “We shot the Major portions where I had to be 80 kg. Then, we shot the character while he is at the Officers Training Academy, and I had to look leaner at 75 kg. We also had the college portions where he decides to join the Army,” said the Don actor.

“Director Rajkumar thought I’d be the best fit for the role because of the connect I have with my audience. I trusted in his ability to guide me through the process, and break my inhibitions and limitations. It has opened my mind to explore more with my scripts. In fact, during a recent screening for select members of the Army and their families, a senior officer told that I was in the wrong profession. That was my biggest award.”

Here’s the Amaran Trailer:

‘I address Major Mukund’s father as appa’

Army films are rare in Tamil cinema, and more often than not, it is only used as a subplot leading to something else. So, in many ways, Amaran is an important film. It gains even more prominence because it is backed by Kamal Haasan‘s Raaj Kamal Films International, Mahendran, and Sony Pictures International. Considering it was made by a corporate production house, Rajkumar got all his basics in place, right from getting the go-aheads from Major Mukund’s family to the other permissions required for filming Amaran. Talking about meeting with Major Mukund’s parents for the first time, Sivakarthikeyan said, “I met them after signing the film, and it was a matter of immense pride. They gave me their blessings, and even now when I talk to him, I address him as appa.”

Interestingly, Sivakarthikeyan shared that he wouldn’t have accepted Amaran if it was just a war film. “It is the journey of a soldier, and honestly, Sai Pallavi, who is playing Major Mukund’s wife Indhu Rebecca Varghese, has an equal role in the film. The way Indhu ma’am approaches life is very inspiring, especially after such a big loss at that young an age. Looking at their daughter, I was even more overwhelmed. She might not have known who her father was, right? I told her, ‘If you want to know who your father was, watch Amaran.’ We want to project the film in a way that she will know that her father was a great person.”

‘People exaggerate when they play army men onscreen’

Among the many challenges for team Amaran was to right the wrongs of the portrayal of the armed force on screen. Crediting every department of Amaran for ensuring authenticity, Sivakarthikeyan shared that the real-life soldiers expressed their reservations about their portrayal. “In fact, when they now tell me that they feel indebted that we have managed to bring their life onscreen, we feel proud. In the recent screening, we saw their emotions and heard their words, and an officer actually said he felt like being at the centre of things while watching the film. I think it is such words that give us our validation.”

Sivakarthikeyan in a still from Amaran

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‘I trust my directors’ instincts’

Having seen his fair share of ups and downs, Sivakarthikeyan understands the vagaries of the fortunes of cinema. He is slowly growing from strength to strength, but his rise isn’t a lonely ride. Very often, he ensures there is a sense of collective growth. Sivakarthikeyan is currently working on AR Murugadoss’ next, and is set to star in Don director Cibi Chakravarthy’s sophomore film. Interestingly, despite holding the power of orchestrating projects, and bringing in the top names in any department, Sivakarthikeyan continues to work with newcomers. In Madonne Ashwin’s Maaveeran, he went with the team that made Mandela instead of changing the core to suit his market strength. The same is the case with Amaran, which marks cinematographer CH Sai’s debut film.

“When I am trusting the instincts of my director and accepting a film, why shouldn’t I extend the same to the rest of the cast and crew. The director knows what they want, and who can bring to life the vision in their minds. So yeah, I don’t see it as such a big thing because there is no reason why I should stop trusting my director’s conviction”

With music by GV Prakash Kumar, Amaran, which also stars Rahul Bose, Geetha Kailasam, and Sree, is set to hit the screens on October 31 on the occasion of Diwali.