Indian star Karthik Sivakumar, known by his screen name Karthiis optimistic about the upcoming release.”Japan”, his 25th film.
The film will release in November during the Deepavali holidays in Tamil, Telugu and a few other languages. “It’s a police thriller, it has a chase. But apart from that, the film’s writing and characters are very grounded and at the same time, it has a lot of flamboyance – it’s a unique combination,” Karthi said. Variety.
The film, from prolific South Indian studio Dream Warrior Pictures, is directed by Raju Murugan. “Being down to earth and still having the flamboyance and arrogance of this character is what got me hooked on the project and excitement about working with Raju Murugan. I liked his previous two films, ‘Cuckoo’ and ‘Joker,’ and his understanding of the local community, the culture here, is so beautiful,” Karthi said.
The actor was particularly impressed by “Vattiyum Muthalum”, a collection of Murugan’s articles where he reflects on life, romance, friendship and alcoholism and also how his outlook on life influenced a crime topic like “Japan”. “He [“Japan”] has the potential to be showcased to an international audience, which is why I wanted Ravi Varman [cinematographer on the “Ponniyin Selvan” films] To be the director of photography, his vision would change the project, that’s what I believed. And I think that’s what we’ve achieved. “It has a very local flavor, but presented internationally.”
Karthi’s father Sivakumar was a popular leading man in the Tamil language film industry in the 1970s and 1980s and his brother Suriya is one of today’s top stars. Sivakumar used to regale his family with behind-the-scenes stories of the film industry over dinner, which the young Karthi found “magical”.
“But dad always kept us away from cinema, he didn’t want us to do anything with cinema. He said, ‘educate yourselves, study well, get your degrees, we should always be well educated,’ Karthi said. As a result, Karthi is an engineer by training with degrees from India and the US. During his stay in the US, while excelling in graphic design, Karthi thought he wanted to pursue a creative profession and took filmmaking courses. cinematographic. After returning to India, he assisted noted filmmaker Mani Ratnam.
“I wanted something challenging every time. And movies provided the opportunity. And moving into acting was by chance. Dad convinced me and told me: ‘You can be a director even at 60, but there is an age to act.’ So I thought it was an opportunity to learn filmmaking as an actor,” Karthi said.
Karthi debuted as a lead with Ameer Sultan’s “Paruthiveeran” in 2007, which was a critical and commercial success. It screened at the Berlinale, where he won a Netpac Award, and in his home, India, Karthi won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor. The film earned a excellent review on Varietyand Karthi received praise.
The actor starred in the hits “Paiyaa” (2010), “Naan Mahaan Alla” (2010), “Siruthai” (2011), “Madras” (2014), “Thozha” (2016), “Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru”. (2017) and “Kadaikutty Singam” (2018). One of his iconic films is Lokesh Kanagaraj’s hit “Kaithi” (2019). A sequel is on the cards. “We have already planned it,” Karthi said, adding that he is working on a schedule.
Karthi – “Ponniyin Selvan: 1”
Madras Talkies/Lyca Productions
Karthi is also one of the leads in parts one and two of Mani Ratnam’s “Ponniyin Selvan”, which were among the biggest Indian hits of 2022 and 2023 respectively. The historical epic is based on a popular work of Tamil literature. Karthi essayed the role of chieftain Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan. “The most exciting character for a lot of people was Vandiyadevan. When I had to bring it to the screen it was actually a big responsibility; Beyond the emotion, it was the responsibility and the fear of knowing how I am going to justify it,” Karthi said. The actor took advantage of the pause in production caused by the pandemic to conduct extensive research on the 10th century, where the books and the film take place.
“After a moment, I think I was taking in too much and Mani-sir said that there is already something natural about you, just let it go and it will be fine. That gave me a lot of ease in playing the role,” Karthi said. “Ponniyin Selvan: 1” received six nominationsone of the biggest successes ever achieved by a South Asian title, at the Asian Film Awards and the films have been widely viewed around the world on Prime Video.
The actor is now ready to spread his wings. “In India we are very emotional, we react to things that happen in our lives, while in other cultures they have their own way of reacting. I would really like to explore that opportunity where you work in another culture, where the understanding of life and relationships are very different and people just choose you for your face, not for the star you are,” Karthi said. Conversations with international agents continue.
A long-standing wish of fans has been to see Sivakumar, Suriya and Karthi together on screen. “People are excited to bring us all together. Dad is now very clear: he doesn’t really want to get in front of the camera. But my brother and I are very interested in finding a good story and making it,” Karthi said. “There are very rarely brothers in the same industry. And we sure want to make a good movie together. Before I was afraid. Now that we are both safe, we have to do one.”
Next up for Karthi is an untitled “fantasy action entertainer” from Nalan Kumarasamy (“Soodhu Kavvum”), the shoot for which is 50% complete; and an untitled “personal, coming-of-age” film by C. Prem Kumar (“96”), where she stars opposite Arvind Swami.