'We need to have rehearsals in Tamil cinema'

A simple, inspiring conversation with a respectable person is all that’s required to give one’s self-confidence level a boost. Don’t think so? Ask actor Nandaa, who is high on confidence now, and he’ll vouch for the fact.
The man has yet again come up with a winning performance in Anandhapurathu Veedu, his next film to hit screens after Eeram. Says Nandaa, about his first meeting with Shankar that gave him immense confidence, “I wanted to meet Shankar sir after Eeram to thank him for re-imposing faith in me.Both Eeram and Anandhapurathu Veedu are his films. It was director Naga who wanted me to play the protagonist’s role in his film. He requested Shankar sir, who readily accepted. So, when I met him, I told him, ‘Thank you, sir, for having faith in me despite the fact that I have no backing in this industry’. He simply replied, ‘Ennaku mattum backing irundhucha enna? (Did I have backing?). Just believe in yourself. I believed in myself and that has got me here.’ That conversation has had an impact on me.”
On anandhapurathu Veedu...
“All I can say is this — Anandhapurathu Veedu is a project that can be termed an actor’s delight. The movie has a very interesting plot, with high drama in the climax. A family returns to the ancestral home of its head after 15 years, due to compelling conditions. The family realises that the house is haunted but cannot leave it because of the conditions outside. Eventually, the family members realise that their ancestral home is the safest place to be. Why they come to such a conclusion is what the movie is all about,” he discloses and adds, “The movie has a message and that is the importance that one must accord to one’s ancestors.”
Challenges...
“Many elements that you view on screen didn’t exist while shooting for the film as they were all recreated using CG. For instance, in the film, there’s a scene in which my eyes trace the movements of a walking stick moving around in the air. What you need to know is that while shooting, the stick wasn’t there. My eyes would be tracking the movements of the imaginary stick, based on the director’s instructions,” he says.
Rehearsals...
Moving on, he declares emphatically, “We need to have rehearsals in Tamil cinema.” Explaining why, he continues, “We had a workshop before the film and it helped a lot. All the artistes, even those appearing for a scene or two, were part of this workshop.”
Contributions
Besides acknowledging the contributions of the director and other technicians, he says in a serious tone, “Chaya Singh’s character goes through many ups and downs emotionally and she has portrayed them all beautifully.”
It is while talking about his other co-artiste, Aryan, the three-year-old who has played his kid in the movie, that Nandaa’s expression changes to that of fun. “Aryan has acted as my son. In the film, he plays a speech-impaired kid while in real life, he’s a chatter box. It was a challenge to make him keep his mouth shut. We had to cajole him and bribe him with ice cream to act!” he grins.
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