Jiiva truly arrived when his track with Santhanam in Siva Manasula Sakthi became a huge hit. Since then, he has played a variety of roles, including a slum dweller, a psychopath, a stuntman, a superhero and of course, the quintessential boyfriend. Since his rather unglamorous beginning in Aasai Aasaiyai , 13 years ago, he has earned for himself the tag of a spontaneous actor with a pleasing smile. As our conversation begins, he sports that very smile with his next film, Thirunaal , up for release this Friday. His last two films, Yaan and Pokkiri Raja have both failed, but he is confident that the law of averages will catch up with him. “I am due a hit. In Thirunaal , we have kept the narration simple with entertainment being the sole focus. In that sense, it’s a natural progression from Yaan to Pokkiri Raja to Thirunaal ,” he says.
On his rustic look, Jiiva says that the film is designed for regional audiences. “I loved getting into the skin of my character, who wears colourful lungis . He even keeps a blade in his mouth. The film is for those who love mass movies. I have to learn from my failures, after all.”
After Yaan and Pokkiri Raja , he took the time to read his scripts. “I watched movies with the audience to learn first-hand what they liked and disliked.” That’s why Thirunaal ’s target audience isn’t limited to those in Chennai and Madurai. “The fact is, there is a huge audience beyond these two places. We have to remember that.”
He is also quite pleased about being paired with Nayantara. “We shared a great rapport on the sets, just as we did when we shot E .” In fact, it was Jiiva who insisted that Nayantara be cast. “It’s a role right up her alley. She adds a lot of colour to the film.” He has a kissing scene with her in the film. “The scene is organically conceived. It’s about two characters whose emotions get the better of them.”
Jiiva says he had a great time shooting for the film. He remembers one incident in particular: “Just as we had begun shooting a fight scene, we saw that about 20 people were actually fighting each other nearby. We almost considered including that fight in our film,” he laughs.
He knows that he raised a lot of eyebrows by deciding to do Thirunaal . “But there were also those who wondered why I wasn’t doing local characters any more. Though my character is a bit of a rowdy, he is also humane, and that should appeal to family audiences and my female fans.”
On his ongoing project, Kavalai Vendam , Jiiva says the character he plays is very much like he is in reality. “It’s a rom-com, and about a couple who fight each other all the time. The film tells the story of a break-up in a lighter vein. If the pain arising out of a break-up is channelled well, it can make you a better person,” he says. After Kavalai Vendam , he will be doing Sangili Bungili Kathava Thorae . “It is a horror-comedy in which I’m paired with Sri Divya for the first time. M. R. Radha’s grandson, Ike, is the director. It’s a light script. I think I gravitate towards such scripts naturally.”
