“My confidence levels have increased as a performer” – The Udhayanidhi Stalin Interview

After three back to back comedy films, Udhayanidhi Stalin shifted to a slightly serious action mode in Gethu, which released earlier this year. Continuing in the same vein, next up from him is Manithan, an official Tamil remake of national award-winning Hindi court-room drama Jolly LLB.

Udhay is frank enough to admit that he is branching out to different attempts as the audience is expecting something fresh. “Due to business impact and the audience’s changing tastes and expectations, I had to reinvent myself. They are expecting fresh content and it took some time for me to understand that. I was getting bored with the same comedy pattern. But in Manithan too, some comedy has been woven enjoyably into the film and it won’t be all serious.”

Udhay says that he took a liking to the subject of Jolly LLB instantly. “Jolly LLB was an emotional film and it connected to me instantly. Lots of additions have been made to our remake, like Aishwarya Rajesh’s TV journalist character and more importance has been given to Hansika’s role, unlike the original. It will be an emotional court room drama.”

He calls his director Ahmed a jolly man.

“Ahmed is very jolly on the sets and am the one who gets tense. He is strong in pre-planning and casting. He is particular about what he wants and doesn’t relent until he gets the people that he wants, even for the smaller roles.” 

Was there any homework that Udhay had to do to fit into the shoes of his character?

“No home work was needed and I followed what Ahmed and cameraman Madhi said. I found the right meter and didn’t take any references. I saw Jolly LLB twice, but after we went into shoots, I didn’t see it again. I made it a point to not see the film again to avoid influences in my performance. My confidence levels have increased as a performer and the director was happy too, with what I had to offer. It’s natural that I grow as a performer.

But it was very challenging with great actors like Prakash Raj and Radha Ravi alongside. I had lot of dialogues to speak. There are no dance moves in the songs, no fights and there would be a live feeling in Manithan. We wanted it to be different. It was a new experience for me, and it would be new for the audience too. And this is an important film for Hansika as well. Be it her look or costumes or the lip sync, Hansika will be fresh in this film.”

About the experience of sharing the space with stalwarts like Prakash Raj and Radha Ravi?

“I was nervous about Prakash Raj sir’s presence and he was in-character right from the time he arrived on the sets. He is a single take artiste thanks to all the vast experience that he has. We needn’t appraise his caliber. Both he and Radha Ravi sir were so encouraging. Radha Ravi used to say that my plus point is being live and realistic. He used to come to the monitor even for the scenes that he wasn’t a part of. He clapped on a lot of occasions for my takes and he is actually expecting this film, more than me. The three of us would have equal space in the second half.”

After 4 back to back Udhay films with Harris Jayaraj, Santhosh Narayanan’s presence in Manithan is a pleasant surprise for movie buffs.

“I needed a change-over from Harris after 4 good outings. ‘Aval’ was the first song which Santhosh gave and it just got better and better from there. His RR would elevate the film. He is my first critic and during the RR work, he called me to appreciate saying that I had acted for the first time (laughs).”

Did Udhay miss dancing in this film, given that he has been taking conscious efforts to improve his skills in this department?

“(Laughs) ‘Kondaatam’ song is my favorite and it had good dancing scope. Shobi master was also very keen in making this a good dance number for me but Ahmed was firm that there should be no dancing. I could not convince him (smiles).”

Going forward, Udhay says that he wants some emotional content in the films he picks up and that he wishes to avoid comedy and templated foreign songs. His next with Suseenthiran, co-starring Vishnu Vishal would be a friendship based film set in Trichy while the story and director for his film with Sri Thenandal Films are yet to be locked. 2016 may be the first year that Udhay would have three releases.

Manithan is all set for release on April 29th. Our best wishes to the team!