'I Never Really Got to Know Rajinikanth Sir Before': Shruti Haasan on Acting in ‘Coolie’

Shruti Haasan’s latest musical work is backed by a combination that is the stuff of Tamil cinema dreams. Her song ‘Vinveli Nayaga’, which the singer also richly performed at the Thug Life audio launch, is composed by AR Rahman, featured in a Mani Ratnam title, and sung for her father Kamal Haasan.

“I've been singing for a long time in my life, and people have liked my songs, but it's never really gotten a reaction like this. Even people who don't like me, pinged me,” she tells The Hollywood Reporter India, with a light laugh. “I don't know how many daughters can sing for their dad like this. I never take this for granted.”

Haasan recalls the song being one of the only ones that involved some prep work. “Usually, when I go for a song, I get it in the studio and work on it there only. But because sir (Rahman) was kind enough to send it to me a few days before so that I could work on it with my piano, it was really helpful.”

The actor-musician is also gearing up for Coolie, Lokesh Kanagaraj’s first collaboration with Tamil screen icon Rajinikanth, in which she plays a pivotal role. In an interview with THR India, she gets candid about her music, Rajinikanth’s ability to put people at ease, and the importance of collaborative conversations for female actors on set.

Tell us how ‘Vinveli Nayaga’ in Thug Life came together?

I was so overwhelmed. It was many months ago that I was introduced to it; I was singing for Rahman sir for another film when he was asking if I wanted to try this out. But the key was super high even for me, and it was out of my range.

We kind of forgot about it.. then I saw the teaser, and was like, “I guess I'm not singing the song.” I was sad about it because it is such a banger. But sir called me back! It was an honour.

When I was singing it on stage, I felt thrilled to share that moment on such an auspicious day with everybody.

What were your conversations with AR Rahman for the song?

He has vocal and recording coaches who work with you. It was an amazing experience. The last time I recorded it (a song with Rahman) was in person. This time, it was a remote recording where he was in Chennai and I was in Mumbai. His engineer and I were able to get it right; I'm thankful for the engineer as well. It's always a team of people that a lot of people don't see on the outside.

When you work with Rahman sir, you get a real feeling of family. I've always been scared to meet my heroes because I don't want to be disappointed, but with Rahman sir it's always different because he's extremely evolved and kind to everyone around.

It was wonderful that a title song like ‘Vinveli Nayaga’ was backed by a strong female voice like yours. What did you make of that?

I think that is really Rahman sir's brain. He knows what works where better than most people. Sometimes he'll add a little section to a song, and it'll sound different from any other composer. It's just not this song, but overall, the album is so diverse. ‘Sugar Baby’ was different, the Paal dabba song was different. It was a truly diverse Rahman experience, which I, as an audience member, enjoyed very much.

Tell us about your singing projects — you're doing so many compelling projects, film and non-film. You recently jammed with a local band in Thailand. 

We were in Thailand for a long time shooting Coolie, and there was like a rock & roll band at a restaurant where there was really good food and service. I would be requesting heavy metal songs. They had no idea who I was and whether I sang or anything, but I just sang a rock song with them! Every time I went to eat there, I ended up singing with them, and it was fun.

I am working on some independent stuff in Tamil that I'm super excited about. We have one set that we do, which is a mix of predominantly English and a little bit of Tamil. And in Hyderabad, we do a bit of Telugu as well. We have another show coming up, which is intrinsically a one-hour Tamil show. It is all songs I've sung and from dad's roster, reimagined rock & roll, because a lot of people liked the Indian 2 performance (Shruti performed at the film’s audio launch last year). I'm excited to take that tour, and we're going to start in October.

How did Coolie come together?

I've always been a fan of Lokesh's work. I remember when I met him on the Vikram set, for some reason, I felt like he secretly wanted to be on camera. He has such a fan following outside of direction alone, where people like his energy. When Inimel (her music video with the filmmaker) came about, I worked with a talented musician called Yanchan. I always felt like Lokesh would be the right person, visually, for it. It took some convincing. He came to meet me at RKFI for the music video and told me he came in person to talk to me about Coolie.

It is a no-brainer that you say yes to a Rajinikanth sir and a Lokesh Kanagaraj film. I am really happy with the part he had written for me as well. We are done with the shoot, and I'm excited for people to watch the film.

What was it like working with Rajinikanth?

He is really wonderful with people. He can put the whole set at ease. I never really got to know Rajinikanth sir at all before, contrary to belief. I had no real interaction with him except for cordial formalities. He was really encouraging. If I did something in a scene that he liked, he'd go out of his way to appreciate it. All artistes need motivation, and when it comes from someone so legendary, it makes all the difference in the world.

You’ve often spoken about how, in the initial stages of your career, you've had to quietly do what you were asked to so that you wouldn't be branded as difficult. But how have things changed today?

In the initial stages, I was like, "Let me just keep quiet and learn." Growing up in a way where I was allowed to ask questions, especially with my dad, there was a lot of freedom of personality. Things are much different now, but when I joined the industry, there were particular standards for what a heroine was supposed to behave like and how she was supposed to speak softly, which has never been my strong suit. I may have been wrong in perceiving it that way, and maybe with time, you also learn how to be yourself without being abrasive. 

As we grow as women, as people, you don't want to pretend. Your job is to pretend, to play someone else. You don't want to be doing that off-screen. I also believe in conserving my energy for the right things. Now, I am very clear with who I vibe with and who I don't.

Now the industry is such that whether it's working with Lokesh or Prashanth Neel, we're able to have these very open conversations about how a woman would react in this situation or, "May I try something more?" There is an openness to have creative, collaborative conversations, which I never used to feel 15 years ago.

What acting roles would you like to sink your teeth into going forward?

Characters that have a little more layers or gravitas. I have been fortunate enough not to sit around joblessly as I have my music, my endorsements and other work. There are films I've done for financial reasons and films I've done because someone has said, "Oh you should do this film."

But I don't want to do that anymore. I want to do it artistically and enjoy the process. I'm excited to play roles that have complexity and are unexpected from me. That's the approach.