I wanted to move out of my comfort zone: The Shanthnu Interview

Shanthnu is one actor who one would always smile at, for the amount of likeable charm that he manages to bring. The actor hasn’t had a big ticket film till date, but Raavana Kottam does look like a promising film for him, that will bring in all the attention that he needs.

Just a couple of days before the release of the film (May 12th), Shanthnu tweeted a couple of pics outside the theatre where he watched the final cut of the film, saying that the journey with the film was almost over, and it is now ready to be served to the audiences.

#Qube வாசலில் …
after a final check #RaavanaKottamfromMay12th

🤎🙏🏻@VikramSugumara3 @Vetri_DOP @DoneChannel1 @teamaimpr @CtcMediaboy pic.twitter.com/LObVF34DGA

— Shanthnu இராவண கோட்டம் (@imKBRshanthnu) May 8, 2023

Speaking about what he feels prior to the release, he said “There is a lot of responsibility and fear. At this time, I would even write a letter to myself saying, dear me, it is okay to be scared. From where I started my journey and where my perspectives were placed, there is a lot of travel. I am roaming around with a lot of nervousness and excitement, as there is a load of production work also apart from being an actor here.” 

Speaking about what Raavana Kottam is about, Shanthnu says “Raavana Kottam is not just a commercial film, it also carries a responsibility where we are taking forward the worries of a sector and are bringing it out to the audiences. This issue is very serious, but it has been spoken about inside a circle alone and has not crossed the boundary where it should actually. We are going to release a sneak peek which will explain the idea about the core of the film. If this issue is not rectified, the entirety of Ramanathapuram will be a slave to corporates. People who are from there know the value of this issue, but they actually don’t know what exactly should be done. The ‘Seema Karuveramaram’ case will get more mileage after the release of the film, and if it gains more mileage, it will be spoken and a rectification will not be far away. There are a lot of politics in the picture, it has all been discussed in a commercial format with the use of romance at the core.”

Shanthnu says that the first half of the film will be focussed on the commercial elements, but the audiences will be sucked into the core issue in the second half. “We want to find everybody to notice the incidents surrounding Ramanathapuram.”

Shanthnu is not just an actor in the film, and he has actually assembled this project from scratch after an opportunity knocked his door. “Kannan Ravi uncle is an old friend of dad and our family. He casually asked me few years back on how much it would cost to make a film. He gave me the responsibility and I took it up. There were so many issues when the project started, and we had to wait through the years of Covid as we wanted to shoot only in the months of April-May. I met director Vikram Sugumaran, the director through Aadhav Kannadasan. I felt the some other scripts that he had were very heavy, this was the right pick for me. More than anything else, I feel that the story didn’t have anything like me, unlike the other films I have done so far. I wanted to move out of my comfort zone.” 

Raavana Kottam is a film that is already drawing so many controversies, and there are many articles being written about the same. “There is a lot being spoken about, but to whomsoever creating such issues, let them be aware that we are ready to show the film to them. In fact, we are ready to show the film to TN CM MK Stalin sir as well. All of them will get their answers once they watch the film,” he says.