Silambarasan TR Thanks Mani Ratnam For Giving Him A Film During Difficult Times
The ‘Thug Life’ actor recalled Ratnam’s generosity at a time when producers were wary of working with him
Mani Ratnam’s Thug Life reunites Tamil actor Silambarasan TR with the ace filmmaker around seven years after the release of 2018 drama Chekka Chivantha Vaanam. In the recently-held audio launch for Thug Life, the actor recalled why his first collaboration with the director was unforgettable.
“There was a situation where a 'red card' was issued against me (in Kollywood) During that time, producers were scared to do a film with me. I didn’t have movies to do at the time. But that was when I got a call from Madras Talkies informing me that Mani sir wanted to meet me,” he said.
The Tamil Film Producers Council issued a red card against the actor over issues regarding his shooting commitment to the producers of the 2017 film Anbanavan Adangadhavan Asaradhavan. “At a time when so many people were scared to cast me, you believed in me and called me to star in Chekka Chivantha Vaanam. I’ll never forget that, sir. Mani sir is very special to me,” he added.
The actor also went on to thank AR Rahman for helping navigate the controversy around Beep Song, his infamous single that was slammed for its salacious lyrics. “When Beep Song was released (in 2015), it was a difficult time for me. And during that time, he told me we’ll do something and we released ‘Thali Pogathey’ (a song from Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada). You’ve done a lot for me. Thank you so much. He was the first person to give me a chance to sing after my dad. I’ve sung around 150 songs because of you.”
Meanwhile, Malayalam actor Joju George also expressed gratitude for Kamal Haasan’s appreciation of his performance in the chilling twin drama Iratta (2022). In an Instagram post, the actor profusely thanked Haasan. “I worked very hard to get my roles framed to perfection. I always expected people from the industry to tell me how I did in all my movies. However, from my own field, very few appreciated my roles and work – I mean, from my coworkers. I struggled to share my movie posters with celebrities; mostly, I was always misunderstood without understanding what I was really doing. Many media persons and coworkers hurt me badly….But today, I'm so happy that I received such appreciation from Kamal Sir, which made my day.”
Thug Life, which co-stars Joju George, Trisha, Nasser, Abhirami, and Ashok Selvan, is headed for a June 5 release.