Sivakarthikeyan On Fighting Jayam Ravi, Period Film with Sudha Kongara, And More

In an exclusive interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, actor Sivakarthikeyan discussed his much-hyped upcoming project with director A.R. Murugadoss. “It's almost 90 per cent done. Murugadoss sir has moved on to Salman [Khan] sir’s project [Sikandar (2025)] now. Once he completes that, we're going to finish this one," he said.

With the dubbing and post-production work still in progress, the actor is now eagerly waiting for the director to decide on the first looks and the title of SKxARM.

He added, “It’ll be a commercial-action entertainer but in a different kind of zone, not like the regular ones.” Despite being a big fan of the quintessential commercial blockbuster, he noted that this would be quite different from those. “It won't have the quintessential hero opening song, and all those elements."

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Featuring actors Rukmini Vasanth, Biju Menon, Vidyut Jammwal, Shabeer Kallarakal and Vikrant, and cinematographer Sudeep Elamon, the film is shaping up to be really interesting, he believes. Elamon’s contribution to it makes it particularly invigorating. “We wanted that unusual [element] in the film, the story demands it.” After hits like Don (2022) and Remo (2016), the actor is also working with composer Anirudh Ravichander in this movie.

Sivakarthikeyan is also currently collaborating with director Sudha Kongara, for a period film on a big scale. “[Actors] Sreeleela and Atharvaa Murali are part of the cast, G.V. Prakash Kumar is doing the music and Ravi K. Chandran sir is doing the camera,” he said. Adding, “The most exhilarating part is Jayam Ravi sir playing the antagonist. I was very happy to hear that, since it’s a very strong character.”

He recalled watching Ravi on-screen during his college days, when the Ponniyin Selvan star began his career. “I’ve enjoyed so many of his films and now I’m going to act with him — we’re going to fight each other!” he reveals with a laugh.

The actor also commended his director on her meticulous nature, saying, “She prepares everything so we don't have to ask too many questions. We just go and ask her what we are supposed to do; she's always high on energy!” Since its being shot in several locations, he added that it’s a tough film to make.

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Signing off with a smile, Sivakarthikeyan revealed his plans to work on a Hindi language film soon as well. "I was interested and did discuss a project. But you know how these things work because of scheduling conflicts and so on," he grins. While none of the plans have materialised so far, he stated that he’s certainly interested, as actor-producer Aamir Khan has already volunteered to produce Siva's first film in Hindi, and to bring him a script.

Watch the Amaran star discuss his journey in films, the many challenges he has faced, his personal life and what's next for him in 2025, in the video interview dropping on The Hollywood Reporter India YouTube channel today at 8 pm.