Twice as good

Siddharth is a favourite with first-time directors, with eight of his films being helmed by newcomers. The next in this line up is 180, which marks the directorial debut of reputed ad filmmaker Jayendra. The actor does not talk about Jayendra in the same breadth as that of other debut directors he has worked with. For, Jayendra has been his mentor even before he entered the industry.

“I've known him since childhood. He gave me my first pay cheque when I dubbed for an ad film as an eight-year-old. I got interested in movies watching Jayendra at work. After I completed my MBA, he helped me get in touch with Mani Ratnam,” smiles Siddharth. And the rest, as they say, is history. Siddharth assisted Mani Ratnam for Kannathil Muthamittal (Amruta) before being launched as an actor.

2011 marks a decade of cinema for Siddharth. This year, his roster has an interesting mix of projects — Telugu film Oh My Friend, an untitled film by Anish Kuruvilla, two Hindi projects, Deepa Mehta's English film Winds of Change (an adaptation of Midnight's Children) and another Tamil-Telugu bilingual.

“I will have to shoot every single day for the next one year to finish my commitments. It's an irony that I am receiving more offers now than when I gave super hits like Bommarillu and Nuvvostanante Nenodantana,” he points out. Given a chance, he'd also like to work in Malayalam and Bengali films.

Baava, Anaganaga O Dheerudu and Oy didn't set the box office on fire and Siddharth takes it in his stride. “I didn't come from a film family. Either I could choose the best of what was offered to me or sit at home. I opted to do the former,” he says.

He calls 180 “a sophisticated love story” that posed new challenges for him. “I have an emotional role that needed to be handled with maturity. I doubt if such a film would have been possible five years ago. The significance of the number 180 will be evident when you watch the film,” he says.

This is his first bilingual film. “It was challenging to do the same scenes, with the same intensity, in two languages. It's commendable that Priya Anand and Nitya Menen have themselves dubbed both in Telugu and Tamil,” he says.

The film has been shot with digital cameras. “The visuals are at par with international standards. Balasubramaniam, who has worked for films like Shivaputrudu (Pithamagan), has done an amazing job.” Music by Sharreth has stirred curiosity. We ask him about the Portuguese song in the album and he shares, “We shot some portions in Brazil and the director felt it would be inappropriate to have a Telugu song. A Portuguese song was written and we found a Portuguese singer.”

 

180 will see him in Tamil after seven years. The sabbatical wasn't intentional, he says. “I didn't get any good offer from Tamil after Boys and Ayudha Ezhuthu (Yuva). I owe my stardom to Telugu cinema. In these seven years, I have come to be known as a Telugu actor,” says Siddhath, who speaks fluent Telugu. “When I toured Tamil Nadu last week, I was asked by the media if I knew Tamil. Imagine being asked that in my native state. I take it as a compliment,” he smiles.

Source: The Hindu