Pa Ranjith’s latest directorial Sarpatta Parambrai is not a regular sports film about boxing. Established in the 70s, it showcases the culture and life of the boxing tribes that existed in northern Madras at that time. At the center of the story are two rival clans – Sarpatta and Idiyappa, who are constantly locking horns in a duel for the pride of their respective clans. Tamil star Arya underwent rigorous training and diet to get into the role of Kaabilan. He took four months of preparation, which included boxing, cardio and weight training for six to seven hours every day, along with a strict diet, to completely transform himself.
The result was a never-before-seen avatar of the 40-year-old actor, making him almost unrecognizable as Kaabilan. Arya spoke to News18 about the struggle of getting into the role and the release of the film on OTT due to the pandemic.
Looks like you have completely transformed yourself to get into your role for Sarpatta Parambrai. How was the process?
The film depicts three different phases of this character. Pa Ranjith had prepared a different look for each phase. And because the film is set in the 1970s, he had to go with looks that were quite popular at the time. We had workshops where we were given visuals, mastered the dialect of the area and the body language of the boxers. We had national boxers who coached us. We also had real boxers who were present at that time, from those clans, coming to our workshop telling us how they practiced, went to a match and what was the scenario at that time. So all these inputs, these learnings went into the preparation of this film.
You have been a part of successful action films in the past, was that another factor that attracted you to this film?
I am comfortable with action but it is not right to do fight scenes without thinking. It is a sports film, with action taking place in a boxing ring, which is a contact sport. It was quite difficult. It was very challenging, because we are doing it with so much enthusiasm that we had no idea what kind of force we were putting into one punch. So either you get hurt or you hurt your opponent. This happened several times on the sets, as the director wanted very realistic punches.
How physically exhausting was it?
We were doing action sequences all day to shoot for two minutes of a sequence in the film. We were so fed up. Tyson and Mohammad Ali also wouldn’t have fought that much for a match. It would have been easier to do just one match and get out in an hour. But we had to keep boxing and rehearsing and taking all day, and for like five-six days in a row, for each fight. The climax was of 10 days. So we will not be able to track how many days we have been boxing.
This type of film was worth watching on the big screen. Are you sorry for not having a theatrical release?
Watching a movie in the theater would have been a completely different experience. I personally miss it. But we are not in normalcy right now. When we make a film, we most want it to reach the people. So right now, when theaters are still not working, and you do a big movie and invest so much time and energy, but you can’t make it to the people you want to reach, you feel frustrated. Huh. So in that sense I think it is okay, at least I am sure this film will reach millions of people at the same time.
OTT has brought content from different languages on a single platform. Are you looking for projects in other industries like Bollywood?
I get offers, but I want to do the right thing, not just for it. If something really good comes along and I think I’m good enough for that, I’ll take it further.
With your fan following, does it build pressure every time you release?
You cannot take anything lightly. With each project, you have to take some calculated risks. I believe in this. So I try to do my best. After Sarpatta, I have two other films that I have finished shooting – Aranmanai 3 and Dushman. So I am eagerly waiting for him, hopefully the theaters will reopen till his release.
read all Breaking Newshandjob breaking news And coronavirus news Here
.