I don’t carry my boy-next-door image to scripts I hear, says 'Sweetheart' actor Rio Raj

CHENNAI: Dressed in blue t-shirt and grey trousers, Rio Raj looks uber cool, and more like an extension of his makeover in Sweetheart directed by Swineeth S Sukumar. As soon as we mention about his swag looks in the recent past, he says, “If you think I look swagger in Sweetheart, I can tell you that my role of Vasu in the movie is diametrically opposite to how he looks. He is not someone who we come across in real life every day. But he is someone right among us, who we fail to take notice of. Vasu in Sweetheart, is an introvert and we decided to give him a makeover so that he stands out from other common men around him.”

Rio’s previous film in lead role, Joe and the recently-released multi-starrer Niram Maarum Ulagil have been box-office hits and won critical acclaims as well. Having explored various genres in a short period of time, the actor says that Sweetheart initially would give away feelers of a film made for youngsters. “When someone listens to the script, they would believe that Sweetheart caters to youngsters or the Gen Z audience. However, when I listened to the bound script, I realised that the characters in the story are young but the topic that it discusses is for everyone. In short, it is like a Bhagyaraj movie where he asks the audience to shy away from the screen whenever they feel the scene doesn’t suit their tastes. Sweetheart too has some of those elements,” Rio opens up.

Having earned the image of boy-next-door and a household name of anna and mama among the audience since his television days, Rio clarifies that he keeps those images aside when he listens to stories. “I enjoy that image and I love that adulation among people. Sivakarthikeyan anna told me about how difficult it is to earn such admiration among the audience. But that is the off-screen image I have earned. When it comes to on screen, that image shouldn’t interfere with my choice of scripts. I wouldn’t mind even playing a strong antagonist in future. Also, I am secure enough as an actor that I really don’t think about how I position myself in the next few years or what is the moniker people would give me,” he remarks.

Be it Joe or Sweetheart, Rio’s movie sets are like a bunch of friends going on a workation and coming up with something quirky. “Absolutely. I ensure that my team stays as a close-knit group. In Joe, me, director Hari and Siddhu, we are all still good friends and I remember how Swineeth was here at your office, even while we were promoting Joe. That way, it is easy to discuss scripts and we even argue about certain scenes and dialogues but we do that before we go on floors. On sets, the work flow should be smooth,” smiles the actor.

Yuvan Shankar Raja’s choice of films have been as good as his choices as composer. “We pitched this story to him while we were shooting for a music video. He was happy to produce it but what came across as a blessing was him composing the music as well. We are thankful to him,” states Rio.