An actor shredding or putting on weight to portray a character is a regular thing in cinema. The latest one to achieve that feat is actor Vatsan Chakravarthy, the antagonist of Kuruthi Aattam which has hit the theaters this weekend with actors Atharvaa Murali and Priya Bhavani Shankar in the lead roles. Filmmaker Sri Ganesh of 8 Thottakkal fame has directed the flick. The entertainer which went on floors back in the year 2017 has finally come to the theaters. Actor Vatsan Chakravarthy who ventured into Tamil cinema through a supporting role in the Harish Kalyan starrer Aridhu Aridhu has recently sat down for an interview with a leading media house in the state.
Speaking about how he bagged the part, he said, “I know director Sri Ganesh from the days of 8 Thotakkal and Kalavu in which I had played supporting roles. I recently essayed the role of an antagonist in a Telugu drama titled Arjun Suravaram. He called me after seeing it and asked if I could grow long hair and beef up a bit and get muscular for a role in his next project. When I met with him for the part, actor Atharvaa Murali was not convinced that I could pull off the role. But director Sri Ganesh banked on me. He said that he had penned the character with me in mind after talking with real life gangsters.”
Talking about how he prepared for the role, he says that he hit the gym for a period of 120 days to get muscular for the part. “I was 81 kg before meeting director Sri Ganesh and I put on 17 kg to get muscular. I knew actor Atharvaa Murali from the time of Kanithan in which I was in the technical team. When he saw my makeover, he was surprised and appreciated my hard work.” Speaking on his experience about working with director Sri Ganesh, he says, “Director Sri Ganesh is quite clear about what he wants from his artists. He pens down clear instructions from dialogue delivery to the body language of the character. Initially, when we began shooting, I delivered my dialogues in high pitch like I did for Arjun Suravaram. But he came up to me and said that for my character killing someone is just like having a cup of coffee, and so I should tone down and be subtle with my dialogues.”
Further talking about performing the action sequences, he stated, “There are 5 action episodes between me and Atharvaa sir. I shot for nearly 36 days for the entertainer out of which 20 solid days were dedicated to shooting the action sequences. Vicky master, who had previously worked in Uriyadi, choreographed the action blocks. I got injured a few times. But the master had safety protocols in place that prevented me from sustaining major injuries, and it was great working with him.”
Kuruthi Aattam is the tale of war between two rival gangs in Madurai. Apart from actors Vatsan Chakravarthi, and Atharvaa Murali, the casting of the film has actors Priya Bhavani Shankar, Radhika Sarathkumar, Vatsan Chakravarthy, Vinod Sagar, Kanna Ravi, and Radha Ravi essaying various other supporting parts. The musical department of the movie was taken care of by music director Yuvan Shankar Raja. Cinematographer Dinesh Purushothaman has been behind the camera for the flick. The editing division has been handed over to editor Selva R. K. The project was bankrolled by T. Muruganantham under the production house Rock Fort Entertainment.
