Walter was originally titled Sathya, reveals Sibi

Sporting a handlebar moustache, Natty twirls it and joins them. Sibi begins, “A lot of them have started comparing Walter to appa’s Walter Vetrivel that released in the 90s. Walter will not have any resemblance to Walter Vetrivel’s storyline. This is a medical crime thriller that will be a trendsetter of sorts.” Talking about playing a copyet again after Naaigal Jaakirathai, the actor says, “Though I played a cop in Naaigal Jaakirathai, it wasn’t a proper cop film, where one saw me wearing akhaki and chasing criminals. In Walter, you will predominantly see me wearing a khaki and fighting criminals, who kidnap girl children. The film will have a message and at the same time, it will have its commercial aspects like Kaakha Kaakhaand Saamy.”

Actor Natty, who was the last to join the sets of Walter says that he was blank. “I had no clue about Sibi’s portion or the continuity of other characters. I have quite a few combination scenes with Sibi and only one with Shirin. All our characters are connected to one another in a way. If I don’t get the gist of what the story is, I would be letting their characters down as well. I’m glad that I pulled it off,” he smiles.

Sibi adds to Natty’s point and says, “He has done a commendable job and I was in awe of his performance since Sathurangavettai. In fact, I was approached by Vinoth to play Natty’s role initially in Sathurangavettai. Apart from being a great cinematographer, I have always looked up to his acting skills.” Shirin joins her co-stars and says that she plays a software professional in the film. “I play a Kumbakonam girl. Sibi and my characters are poles apart. However, I play a support system to his character.” The actress says that she couldn’t dub for the role. “I couldn’t get the Kumbakkonam accent right. However, Sibi taught me a few words in Tamil. Later, I learnt that what he taught me were swear words,” she laughs as Sibi hides himself.

The title of Walter wasn’t originally planned for the film reveals Sibi. “The director of the film, Anbu had narrated the story to me in 2016. The film was titled Sathya. I immediately called up Pradeep Krishnamoorthy (The director of Sibi’s Sathya) and said that the title sounds good for our script. Anbu called me and laughed for stealing the title from him. That is how this film ended up becoming Walter,” he concludes.