With barely two weeks left for the release of Sardar 2, starring Karthi and SJ Suryah, director PS Mithran has already begun promoting his upcoming sequel. The director recently spoke about SJ Suryah's dedication and how he ensured not to waste time on sets by rehearsing his scenes well in advance.

Sardar 2 comes 4 years after Sardar and also stars Malavika Mohanan and Ashika Ranganath in lead roles, with Rajisha Vijayan reprising her role from the original. Also starring in the film are, VTV Ganesh, Yogi Babu, Shah Ra, Babu Antony, OAK Sundar, Sajol Ahamed and Anbu Thasan, among others.

Mithran first explained how he approached Suryah for the film. "When I narrated his character to him, I performed it the way he would usually perform it. After he came onboard, it was a complete collaboration. A lot of people told me SJ Suryah sir is very choosy, but I never found him to be that way," he said in an interview with Avudaiyappan Talks.

Recalling an anecdote from the shoot, he continued, "He is so cooperative that during the shoot, while filming an action block, he hurt himself on his right cheek and started bleeding. I asked for the shooting to be packed up for the day. He stopped me, took a break, and returned back to shoot in 20 minutes. He patched up the bruise with makeup and went to the hospital only after finishing the shoot for the day. Extremely dedicated."

He then went on to detail how the actor-director always rehearsed to ensure he didn't waste time while shooting. "There was not one day where he would come on sets and ask me what scene was being shot that day. A few days before a schedule, he would call me over to rehearse scenes slated to be shot during the schedule. Even if I had no time, he would come where I was and rehearse the scenes. He never wanted to waste time during the shoot. We would discuss the entire script before shoot, and he would mostly finish his shots in a single take on set," he added.

Sardar 2 is gearing up to open in theatres on September 10.