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Director Sudha Kongara, who recently helmed the film Sarfira, the Soorarai Pottru remake starring Akshay Kumar, spoke about their creative differences on set. She said that the issues lasted about a week, during which Akshay would ‘see through’ her, forcing producer Vikram Malhotra to play the mediator between them. She said that after a few days, they resolved these ‘frictions’ and work proceeded smoothly, although Sudha learned that she will not have certain luxuries that she did with Tamil star Suriya, who headlined Soorarai Pottru.
In an interview with India Today, Sudha was asked what the first day on set was like, and she confessed, “Both of us were quite individualistic in our approach to the script. He understood me and I understood him. Certain things that I’m very particular about, I don’t give in. And when I don’t give in, Vikram steps in. And then he’ll say, ‘No paaji, no paaji, you have to…’ It worked so brilliantly.” Sudha said that both she and Akshay like working early in the morning, so that’s one thing they agreed on instantly. But there were growing pains otherwise. “His process was a little different than mine,” she said.
Sudha explained, “I was stuck to the original… But this character isn’t quiet, he’s happy, he jumps around. He’s happy. Akshay brought that to the character. In the beginning, I didn’t understand him for about six days. We had our frictions. But he’s not the kind to get angry or shout. He’ll look through you. I didn’t care, because I was getting what I wanted anyways. When he’s upset, when he’s a little low, he gives you the best.” Sudha said that Akshay is a very dedicated actor, and corroborated his recent claims about not taking breaks on set or going to chill in his vanity van between shots. “All of that is wonderful. He doesn’t even take a break, he doesn’t go off-set. I’ve never even seen him go to his vanity…”
This isn’t the first time that either Sudha or Akshay have spoken about these differences. In interviews with Galatta Plus, both the filmmaker and the star shared their perspective on what happened between them in the first week of production. Akshay said, “Sudha is a director who sets up her camera, and tells the actor what they need to do. But there are many directors who ask, ‘You tell me what you’re going to do, and I’ll move the camera accordingly. Sudha was telling me what I have to do, not the other way around.”
The filmmaker, on the other hand, had said, “Suriya is Suriya. I have known him for over 25 years, and it’s much easier to tell him what I want. It’s very friendly and casual. But with Akshay sir, it’s ‘sir’ first of all, and I was meeting this gentleman for the first time. Since I have no filters, it was almost similar. The first six days, he wasn’t happy. He was like, ‘What is this girl making me do all this rubbish?’ So then he and the producer spoke to me, and I said, ‘You do whatever you like to do, and I will tell you when it isn’t going right.’ I also had to let go because I had created the perfect Maara in my head, and I thought there could be nobody better than Suriya, and that’s how it had to be played. I soon realised that I was suffocating this actor who had his own method, so I had to let go.”
Sarfira opened to mixed reviews on Friday, bombing at the box office with Akshay’s lowest opening in 15 years. In four days of release, the movie has made only Rs 13 crore, continuing a disappointing run for Akshay.
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