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‘Sarpatta Parambarai’ is a dream come true for me: Arya to TNM

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In an interview with TNM, actor Arya talks about his preparation for the role, favourite sequences from the movie, his take on the ‘theatre versus OTT’ debate, and more.

Actor Arya is gearing up for the release of director Pa Ranjith’s Sarpatta Parambarai, which features him in a ‘never-seen-before’ avatar. Set in North Madras in the 1970s, the sports drama showcases the lives of rival boxing clans, Sarpatta and Idiyappam Parambarai. Arya will be seen as Sarpatta parambarai’s Kabilan, who rises up to the occasion and represents his clan in a heated boxing face-off or ‘roshamana aangila kuthusandai’ (angry English boxing fight), as shown in the trailer. 

This is Pa Ranjith’s next film after doing back-to-back films with Rajinikanth, Kabali and Kaala. The director is known for making nuanced, politically layered films, and his fans are eagerly awaiting the release of Sarpatta. It’s for the first time that he has made a sports drama. 

Ahead of the film’s release on Over-the-Top (OTT) platform Amazon Prime Video on July 22, actor Arya in a conversation with TNM, speaks about his preparation for the role, favourite sequences from the movie, his take on the ‘theatre versus OTT’ debate, and more.  

Sarpatta Parambarai is different from your other movies in recent times, which were romcoms, entertainers and action/ crime thrillers. Why did you choose this script? 

It was like a dream come true script for me. I’ve always wanted to do a sports film. When this script came, I felt like I had to do this and I had to go all out. So, that was my intention for the whole film. I was waiting for a film like this for a very long time. I am so happy it came to me.  

You’ve had to undergo massive physical transformation for the role and the posters and trailer hint at an intense movie. So, what kind of research and preparation did you do for the role?  

The preparation was mostly done by the director. I think he has been researching for this film for close to 10 years, since the time he wanted to make this film. So the research has been huge. When we had a workshop, he had people from the 1970s coming in to tell us how boxing was at those times and how they prepared. Extensive research has gone into the making of the film; the way we speak, the body language, the costumes, art department, are all reflective of that.  

Sarpatta marks your first-time collaboration with director Pa Ranjith. What was your experience of shooting with him? 

What I like about Ranjith is that he mostly deals with the lives of characters in the film. His staging of scenes is quite different, he keeps it very close to reality. He has very lively elements when he stages the scenes. His filmmaking as well as ideology is very unique. I think it works for him and it definitely works for this film. 

Director Ranjith’s movies often discuss important political themes and they often represent marginalised communities. What can we expect from Sarpatta?

This movie is not based on political themes. It mostly deals with the lives of Sarpatta and the relative clans and with the scenario of boxing. Not much of his political views or ideologies in this film.  

Some actors express their opinion about the characters they play, discuss it with the director and intervene if they feel it requires changes, while others tend to submit to the director’s vision? So, what is your process like?  

For me, going with the director’s vision works. Once I am convinced that I am good to go for the film, I don’t question the director’s vision.  

What was the most challenging sequence for you to shoot? And if you had to pick a favourite scene or perhaps a dialogue from the film, which one would it be?  

There are lots of favourite scenes for me in the film, especially the pre-climax sequence where a lot of transformation happens. That’s quite a sequence. And the scene before that features my character with his mother, and that is also a very special scene for me.  

You post a lot about fitness on social media. What is your personal affiliation with sports and fitness? Do you think that it is important for actors playing the lead in sports films to have some sort of association with sports in the past?   

Yeah, because acting is not an easy job. Actors have to work at odd hours and put in long hours of work. Being fit is not just a requirement for sports films. And it is not just about the actors, it is also a requirement for directors, who are under a lot of pressure. I think we lead stressful lives, so being fit and exercising is the only way we can let the stress out. I think it is mandatory for every actor/ technician to work out.  I’ve been associated with sports right from childhood, since I was in school. I was into athletics, football, cricket etc. So, sports and fitness have been my life all together.  

From Dangal, Mary Kom, Irudhi Suttru and Kanaa to Bigil and Toofan, we are seeing a lot of sports dramas and sports biopics in recent times, not just in Kollywood but across film industries in the country. What do you think is the reason?  

Sports is something that everybody connects to; be it, cricket or football. Sport films also have a lot of high points and people really relate to it. There are many adrenaline- pumping scenes where the audience is wondering whether the person on screen is going to win the match or not. All the emotions in the film really play out well with audiences. I think when you make a good sports film, it always becomes a huge hit.  

What has the pandemic been like for you? 

We shot half of Sarpatta before the pandemic and we had to wait for the pandemic to subside. We again had to halt during the second wave, and completed shooting after the second wave of the pandemic. It’s been quite a journey. It’s not easy to shoot at times like these, it’s difficult. But we had to do it. So, we did it with all the necessary protocol.  

Personally, it was the same for me like everyone else. It was rough. We had to wait in anticipation for the situation to get better.  

Both Sarpatta Parambarai and your previous film Teddy were made for the big screen and ended up on OTT. So, do you think it is going to change anything for the audiences? And do you believe that there is a difference in theatre vs OTT when it comes to film scripts or even in terms of shooting?  

We don’t really think about shooting a film in a separate manner for OTT. The good thing about Sarpatta on Amazon is that it will reach a lot of people, like how Teddy did. It is good that it is going to reach a global audience. I think at this point, this is the best I could have asked for and it’s the best option for the film. I am very excited about it.  

Some members in the film fraternity believe that OTT is the way forward. Whereas, some believe that we will go back to theatres like the pre-pandemic times once the COVID situation improves. Some believe theatres and OTT will co-exist. What is your take on this?   

It’s not like films won’t be released in theatres after COVID. I think both theatres as well as OTT platforms will exist. We will have a market for both. It’s a great thing. We now have a platform like Amazon, where we know how well and how far the reach for a film could be. The range is wide. Exploring OTT further would definitely be a great experience as well. So, I think both have their own perks. 

The debate between commercial films and non-mainstream/ art films has existed for a long time now. Do you believe these are still valid after the pandemic, especially when most of the big budget projects, backed by stars, as well as small budget movies are releasing on OTT? Do you think the demarcation still exists and is valid?   

I’ve never really understood this concept of commercial versus art films. When a movie is monetarily successful, they call it commercial and if it’s unsuccessful, they call it an art film. There is no real meaning to it. As long as you enjoy the film, you are able to satisfy the audience, then it’s successful. I think we should be looking at that rather than generalising it. 

Could you tell us a bit about your upcoming projects? 

We recently completed shooting for Enemy. We have also wrapped up the shoot for Aranmanai 3. I am looking forward to both the films, let’s see how it plays out. 

Watch the trailer of ‘Sarpatta Parambarai’:

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Source: The News Minute