Suriya on Kanguva: 'Wanted to make something like Braveheart, Lord of the Rings'

Suriya always wondered when Indian cinema will make movies on par with Hollywood epics like Braveheart and The Lord of the Rings, and South cinema star Suriya says he got an opportunity to do something just like that with his new film Kanguva. (Also read: Suriya reveals one of his ‘lowest times’ was before Soorarai Pottru: How can I again be happy being...)

What Suriya said

Praising director Siva for his vision, the National Award winner said the upcoming Tamil movie is a "little futuristic" and will be "a never-seen-before" experience for the audience.

Billed as a "mighty valiant saga" which spans generations, "Kanguva" is slated to be released on November 14. It also stars Bobby Deol and Disha Patani in their Tamil cinema debut.

"We have loved films like 'Braveheart', 'Lord of the Rings', 'Game of Thrones' or 'Apocalypto'. We have been mesmerised by them and watched them multiple times. The thought was 'When are we going to do such films?'

"Siva came up with this idea of what if we go back a few 100 years... What would happen if our people lived such life and had a complex situation? Let's picture that and that's how the whole thing came about," Suriya told PTI in an interview here.

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The actor, who plays the title role in "Kanguva", described it as a "screenplay-oriented film".

"Siva is amazing with green matte shots . He's very talented at telling a story visually. He would love theatrical moments, so all put together is 'Kanguva'," he added.

This is Deol's first release since the 2023 hit "Animal", which recently earned him a trophy for best actor in a negative role at the IIFA Awards. He plays the antagonist Udhiran in "Kanguva".

"There are a lot of characters you get offered who are antagonists and it is more important that the story and screenplay are interesting. If the story is not interesting, you can play the antagonist or the main hero of the film, but you won't enjoy it because it doesn't give you anything or satisfies you as an actor," he said.

The actor was excited to board the film because Suriya was "the main guy".

"I've been a big fan of Suriya. I never knew Siva so well and when I met him, he promised me 'Sir when you come on the set, you'll be really happy'. I've never been so happy on a set. Siva is like a teddy bear and he's really sweet. You see a lot of historical films, but this takes you into a different world together. Making something like this is a big task," Deol said.

The actor said he was way out of his comfort zone as he was unfamiliar with the Tamil language.

"It is so difficult when you don't know the language and you have to perform because you have to understand what you're trying to portray. Siva is such an actor's director. He was amazing to be around when we were on set. He guided me through every scene I did..." he added.

Patani said she had a "blast" working on "Kanguva".

"The first time I met Siva sir he said 'I just want to see my actors happy on set'. I was very stressed about the lines in Tamil and I'm not very great with learning languages. But he was there, holding my hand and taking me through every small scene.

"Gnanavel sir was like whatever you need, we were like family. Suriya sir is so sweet, to see him act in front of me every day was extremely inspiring. His process is like he snaps in and out. Bobby sir and I enjoyed shooting a lot," she said.

Mounted on an estimated budget of over ?350 crore, "Kanguva" is produced by K E Gnanavel Raja, V Vamsi Krishna Reddy and Pramod Uppalapati. It is backed by UV Creations and Studio Green.

Gnanavel Raja, whose credits include "Thangalaan" and "Madras", said he decides the budget of a film on the basis of his trust and conviction in the director.

"The minute we finalised the script, we all knew this was going to be a little expensive. So, we were mentally prepared that we have to do this budget for the film to justify the script. The script demanded the budget," he added.

Suriya, whose 27-year career boasts of films such as "Kaakha Kaakha", "Pithamagan", and "Ghajini", said going forward he wants to take up more challenging projects like "Kanguva".

"The audiences have always been ahead of filmmakers. We just have to catch up with them. Everyone can have their own space. Anybody who wants to be adventurous will be welcomed and accepted. So, it's about when we are ready and how far we push ourselves. It's been 27 years for me and we want to push boundaries and that's why 'Kanguva'," he said.

Deol said the trend of pan-Indian films is the "future".

"We have so many languages. There were great films made from south cinema, Hindi cinema and other parts of our country. But now times have changed and the world has become smaller. They have become more aware of what kind of movies are made in India. It's nice to see it's no longer like 'Hindi film' or 'Tamil film'. It's become pan-Indian films," he added.

(With inputs from PTI)