Actor Santhanam’s rise to stardom is one for the books. Starting out as a comedian on Television, the actor gained incredible fame for his witty puns and one-liners before he was catapulted to the big screen by actor Simbu aka STR. Completing a circle, the actor’s latest film Sakka Podu Podu Raja introduces Simbu as a music director. “I am really happy that my film is Simbu’s first film as a composer. No matter how many films he does, it is a matter of pride for me that mine was the first,” said the actor.
Sakka Podu Podu Raja is set to release on December 22 clashing with Sivakarthikeyan’s Velaikkaran at the box office. Ironically, Sivakarthikeyan was also first a successful television artiste before his cinema stint. But the actor clarifies that there is no clash between him and Siva. “Rather it is a healthy competition between two movies,” says Santhanam.
Talking about Sakka Podu Podu Raja, Santhanam says it is a complete entertainer. “It is 200% commercial and entertaining. The film will reflect the camaraderie that we share,” he said. He further added, “My next two films Server Sundaram and Mannavan Vandhanadi with Selvaraghavan belong to different genres.”
After Santhanam got his big screen break, the actor had an extremely successful stint as a comedian before he decided to essay lead roles. And now he is certain that he will only be the hero henceforth. “There is no point in confusing the audience. Now that a trajectory has been fixed, I want to focus on that,” he said.
While the actor might not accept comedian roles again, Santhanam said he would love to do films in the genre as a hero. “At the end of the day, I am an entertainer. Even in Mannavan Vandhanadi, I had suggested some funny inclusions. He agreed as a mix of our styles would be new. So, for me, comedy is inherent,” said the Dhilluku Dhuddu actor.
The film has five comedians Vivek, Robo Shankar, Powerstar, VTV Ganesh and Mayilsami. Their combination would be unique, asserted Santhanam. “Each of the five artistes will shine in their character. I don’t believe in a comedian being cast just for the sake of it. The script needed so many people,” he explained. “Simbu was laughing continuously in the second half during re-recording. We even stopped for a while as he couldn’t stop laughing,” Santhanam narrated.
Even though the actor has done action sequences before, Santhanam has taken it up a notch this time. “There are three extensive fight sequences in the film. Now that I have started acting as a hero, fans expect good action and dance sequences. So, to perform, I had several rehearsals. A lot of hard work has been put in behind the action scenes,” said Santhanam to indianexpress.com.
When asked if he would enter politics, the actor explained that it is not his short-term goal. “The first aim to make my mark as a hero. In the future, I would be able to give a good answer,” he said.
This was first originally published on https://indianexpress.com/. You can find it here.
Ashameera Aiyappan 
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