'Didn't mimic SJ Suryah off camera while shooting for Don'

CHENNAI: Sivakarthikeyan meets us at a city hotel after completing the final output of Don on Sunday night. “I went to sleep at 3 am on Monday morning. Gugan (his son), is an early-riser and woke me up at 7 am. Bend eh kazhataraan (He is making us run behind him),” he begins.

The actor-producer is excited for Don, in which he plays a college student for the first time in his career. “To go about the role, I had to cut down on biryani and ice-cream. It is because there were college-going guys sharing the frame with me. What was even funnier was to play a school student. There were teenage guys and I was a little conscious when it came to looking the part. So, I did my homework by shedding a few kilos to be confident in front of the camera,” he explains.

Don has Sivakarthikeyan sharing screen space with SJ Suryah. When SK started off as a mimicry artist in television, SJ Suryah’s voice was his claim to fame. SK laughs as he reminisces on that. “Even in college, I used to mimic SJ Suryah sir’s voice in cultural events and have won several prizes. That was when New had released and I was the first person to mimic him frequently, which earned me recognition. When it came to Don, I didn’t mimic him off screen but you could see me doing that once in the film,” he adds.

This is the second consecutive time that SK shares screen space with Priyanka Mohan after Doctor. “The on screen chemistry has shaped up well yet again after Doctor. It will be vastly different from what you saw in Doctor. The romantic angle is different in Don and I had fun working with Priyanka,” he says. With many south stars foraying into the OTT world, Sivakarthikeyan has been clear in releasing his films in theatres. “That is what I have dreamt of— to see myself on the big screen. And as a producer, I have been offered several scripts. However, I haven’t zeroed in on any for that space yet,” he clarifies.

Apart from being a successful actor and producer, SK’s songs have found a special place in many households.

“I am not a lyricist by profession. I pen down my thoughts on the phone whenever I am approached to write lyrics for a particular situation. Writing in colloquial Tamil is easier as classical Tamil is too dense for me to write at the moment,” he says with a smile.

The remuneration earned by SK to pen lyrics for the film will be handed over to late lyricist Na Muthukumar’s family. “I have been a huge fan of his since my college days. His lyrics along with Yuvan’s music were a formative influence in my teenage years. This is my way of giving something back to him and it will continue,” assures the actor.

Sivakarthikeyan’s tweet to Arun Vijay’s son Arnav was the talking point in Kodambakkam on Monday. The tweet ended several speculations of a tiff between these actors.

Asked if the tweet was spontaneous, SK laughs, “I thought this was the best way to end the talks that are doing the rounds. Had I not taken the initiative, there would be no end to it. At one point, even I would have gotten overwhelmed. I am glad we belled the cat finally,” he concludes.