Santhanam accedes to Simbu's request; Says he will definitely do comedian roles along with lead roles

Chennai, May 13 (IANS) Acceding to close friend Simbu's request, actor Santhanam has now said that he will do comedian roles in select films apart from doing films that feature him as the lead actor.

However, Santhanam expressed doubts on how many films he will be able to accomodate as a comedian and also made it clear that even if he appeared as a comedian, audiences would only get to see a new Santhanam as he was particular about not repeating anything that he had already done.

Participating in a press conference, ahead of director S Prem Anand’s much-awaited horror comedy ‘Devil's Double Next Level’, in which he plays the lead, Santhanam was asked to respond to Simbu's request to him that he should also do comedy roles apart from doing films in which he played the lead.

Responding to the question, Santhanam said, "If you ask about comedy roles, you cannot see the Santhanam you saw initially. People have watched that Santhanam a lot on television and youtube channels. So, we need to do something new. And I am thinking on how to design this new Santhanam. I do not know if I will be able to play a comedian in all the films. Already there are three to four people, who have paid me an advance and are waiting to do a film with me (as hero). In fact, I have actually returned the advance I received for a film to do Simbu's movie. We are looking at how we can design my role in Simbu's film."

"Then, after that, I have a commitment with Arya. I had told at the time of 'Vadakkupatti Ramasamy' itself that I will do a film with Arya. The director of Devil's Double Prem Anand also has a script based on both of us. So, we are planning to do that as well. I will definitely do comedian roles but I do not know if I will do several such characters. More importantly, I will not repeat old roles," Santhanam said.

Simbu, at the audio launch of event of Devil's Double, had said, "A lot of films that spread happiness must come. We miss a person like Santhanam for quite some time now. So, apart from acting as a hero in films, he must also combine with actors and directors and do films."

Silambarasan urged Santhanam to choose films that he liked and work in them as a comedian as well for the sake of fans of Tamil cinema.

"I thought let my film #STR49 be a starting point to such a step. Several people expressed doubts if he would agree to be a part of the film. I told them that all I had to do was just make a phone call and he would agree for my sake, unmindful of the story or the film. Similarly, when he called me, I knew I had to come for his film's audio launch. The friendship between us is like that," the actor had explained.

--IANS

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