Sivakarthikeyan on box office prospects of Namma Veettu Pillai, failure of Mr. Local, and forthcoming releases

In a short span, Sivakarthikeyan has become one of the most bankable stars in Tamil cinema. Yes, his previous two films — _Mr. Local_ and Seema Raja did not do well at the box office but still, producers believe in him as he has created a solid family audience base in Tamil Nadu. [caption id=“attachment_7412741” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Sivakarthikeyan and Aishwarya Rajesh in a still from Namma Veettu Pillai. YouTube[/caption] “I have faced challenges in each phase of my career. When I was growing slowly on the small screen, entering into the cinema was a challenge. Then, securing a position within the industry was a challenge. Now, safeguarding my position has become a challenge. Yes, Mr. Local’s collection was not at par with my previous films. I have analysed what went wrong with the film, and trying to rectify the shortcomings in my upcoming films. My new release Namma Veettu Pillai has the potential to bring back my set of audiences to theaters and push me forward. I’m also quite confident about my upcoming films," says Sivakarthikeyan in an exclusive interview to Firstpost. Pandiraj, who introduced Sivakarthikeyan in Marina, is the director of Namma Veettu Pillai. “Even now I have the same respect for Pandiraj sir. In fact, there was an assistant with the same name as my director in Namma Veettu Pillai team. Interestingly, until the end of the shoot, I never addressed him with his name. In case if he commits any mistake on the sets, I would ask my director to scold him," laughs the actor. While Siva respects Pandiraj, a few years ago, the latter was unhappy with the former. “I couldn’t do a film for Pandiraj sir so he was disappointed and upset. Later, I clarified my position, and he was fine with it. Henceforth, there will not be any such conflict between us,” assures Siva. The trailer and posters of Namma Veettu Pillai remind the audience of Pandiraj’s previous blockbuster Kadai Kutty Singam. “The first 10 minutes of the film will definitely remind you of Kadai Kutty Singam. But slowly, you will get into the world of the brother and sister (played by Sivakarthikeyan and Aishwarya Rajesh), and the emotions will change in every 30 minutes. Many are asking why we have roped in Aishwarya to play my sister, and not my pair. As a matter of fact, a top heroine, who was approached to play my pair, actually expressed her interest to play the sister part. Aishwarya’s character is at par with my role in the film," says Siva. Talking about his next film _Hero_ with Irumbu Thirai director Mithran, Siva says, “It will be a stylish action thriller, which talks about an important issue. Hero will be completely opposite to the look and feel of Namma Veettu Pillai," but he neither confirms nor denies the reports on him playing a vigilante superhero in the film. In Hero, Abhay Deol plays the antagonist. “Abhay Deol sir is super dedicated on the sets that he writes each and every Tamil line like an imposition, and perfectly speaks his dialogues without any lip-sync issues. Sometimes if we change any Tamil lines to English, he would be particular in retaining the Tamil word," says the actor. Sivakarthikeyan is now all set to resume shooting for his long-pending sci-fi film. There were reports he waved off a big part of the remuneration for the revival of the project. “To be honest, I waved off my entire salary for the film. The script has all the elements to satisfy audiences, even in 2020. We have only 30 to 35 days left in the film so (I am) planning to resume the shoot in November. I will also be doing one more film for Ravi Kumar as the delay of the sci-fi film has caused him dearly," reveals Siva. _2.0_ cinematographer Nirav Shah cranks the camera for the sci-fi film, and AR Rahman will compose the music. While Hero is slated to release on 20 December, the untitled sci-fi film is likely to release in May 2020. “I’m in talks with Vignesh Shivan for a project, which will be bankrolled by Lyca (Productions). I will also be doing a film with Kolamavu Kokila director Nelson. Anirudh Ravichander is likely to compose music for both these films," signs off the Rajini Murugan actor.