Tamil director AR Murugadoss of Ghajini and Thuppakki fame is back with another action thriller Spyder.
This bilingual made in Tamil and Telugu features Telugu star Mahesh Babu in the lead. Rakul Preet Singh, who is making a comeback to Tamil films with this movie, is paired opposite him. Adding to the hype is the intriguing presence of Tamil actor-director SJ Surya playing the antagonist.
Surya, who delivered a spectacular performance in his last Tamil film Iraivi, calls his character a dark villain.
“Murugadoss has depicted the cruelty of this villain in a novel way. I enjoyed experimenting with this role.”
Look out for Tamil actor Bharath in a significant character.
Gulf News tabloid! caught up with the vivacious Singh, who says working with Murugadoss was a dream come true, and the cherry on top was Mahesh Babu. Excerpts from the interview follow.
Describe your role in Spyder?
“In Spyder, I play Charlie, a medical student. She is a real nerd who often thinks that she is right and quite sure about it. It’s that innocence about her that is funny. She is clumsy and cute. Spyder talks about the diminishing values of humanity today and is pivoted around the clash between the hero and the villain. My scenes will give viewers a respite from heavy scenes.”
What kind of homework did you do?
“Charlie is the girl-next-door with messy hair. We worked on her looks first, getting the right eye frames and hairstyle. The difficult part was filming in two languages back to back. While I am fluent in Telugu, I am yet to master Tamil. Switching from one set of dialogues to the other language was stressful.”
How was it working with Murugadoss and Mahesh Babu?
“When I received a call from director Murgadoss I did not even want to hear the narration. I am aware of the significance of women in his films. During filming, he explains every scene and takes you into the mood of the character. And then gives us space to interpret the characters in our way. Sometimes he is happy with our interpretation and sometimes he corrects our performances. It was a learning school. Mahesh Babu is an amazing person to work with.”
What are you working on now?
“I wrapped up Tamil film Theeran Athikaram Ondru with director Vinoth. Karthi and I play a lower middle-class married couple. My character is a typical Tamizh ponnu [Tamil girl] who is happy in her little world. Coming up next is another Tamil film opposite Surya. My Hindi film Aiyaary directed by Neeraj Pandey is also done. Aiyaary is an army-based story centred around a senior officer and his junior and their clash of beliefs. I play an IT professional. We shot at Cyber Hub, in Goregaon. It took me on a nostalgic journey to my college days when I hung out here with friends. And then shooting in Delhi, the city where I had lived for six years was a dejavu moment.”
Don’t miss it
Spyder releases in the UAE on September 28.
