Shane Nigam declares, “I am an avid fan of Dhanush and Vijay.”
Madraskaaran, a Tamil film, is Shane Nigam’s upcoming feature film debut. The actor discusses his Tamil film debut, his personal favorites, and more in a conversation with us. Take-outs:
IN TAMIL CINEMA
Compared to Malayalam films, I have seen more Tamil movies in theaters. I believe I have seen Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa in excess of twenty-five times.I watch a lot of Tamil actors. I’m an avid admirer of Vijay and Dhanush. I’m also a major admirer of Anirudh; I doubt a day goes by that I don’t listen to one of his songs.
ABOUT HIS SELECTION OF MADRASKAARAN AS HIS TAMIL DEBUT: I’ve been getting proposals from the Tamil film business for a while now, particularly since the release of RDX. Madraskaaran wasn’t something I did solely to make a Tamil movie. The film’s subject resonated deeply with me, and although it has a vengeance premise with RDX, the two are not the same. In this movie, I’m playing a Tamil, which may be difficult since I shouldn’t come off as a Malayali playing a Tamil.
“Every day, I used to go to Marina.” In 2017, I spent six months in Chennai. I came to this place to practice for a dancing role I had in the movie Valiy Annual. My final day here was the day I learned how to backflip. Perhaps spending time here back then has improved my language skills and allowed me to see more of the city. I used to visit Marina Beach every day at those period.
Concerning Madraskaaran…
In Madraskaaran, I play a character called Sathyamoorthy. Though he was raised in Chennai, his hometown is Pudukkottai. When his father wants him to be married there, he returns to his hometown. The whole plot of the movie revolves on what happens after that. Despite having action, the movie tends to be more of an emotional drama.
“There’s no point in making a song-only, boring movie.”
I used to search for movies with meaningful substance. However, even I’m becoming tired of watching sluggish movies these days. It might be a reflection of how I’ve evolved over the years. These days, I want to work on interesting, somewhat fast-paced movies with commercial aspects that aren’t compromised by the quality of the material. If not, there would be no use in making a boring movie with just songs that work in its favor since the audience won’t find it interesting.
“A film must have organic commercial components.” After working on movies for seven or eight months, it saddens me as an actor when such movies are pulled from theaters in a matter of two or three days. Our unconventional films, such as Veyil and Eeda, are well received, but they don’t have a wider audience. There are several more restrictions in addition to a tight budget for these movies. Thus, we will also need to lower our eyesight. Therefore, for a film to remain true to its vision, it must have organic commercial components that expand its audience. It ought to be in balance.
