Among the many memorable scenes from the first glimpse of Suriya's Karuppu released last year was a moment where the actor was seen eating a watermelon and waving a few people to get away from him, a throwback to Suriya's iconic moment in Ghajini (2005). Comparisons, memes and a major influx of discussions followed as fans had their nostalgic bones tickled nearly two decades after AR Murugadoss' film was released and went on to become a cult classic in Indian cinema.
Revealing why he decided to place that specific moment in Karuppu, director RJ Balaji shared, "Many young people, including Gen-Z aren't aware who was the original person to pull it off." The director-actor-commentator was referring to the viral parody of Suriya's very same scene by content creator T Diwagar, which earned him the monicker 'Watermelon Star' online. He recently made a brief stint on Bigg Boss Tamil season 9.
“Suddenly, during an interview, someone told me, ‘You even made Suriya sir do that!’ I was shocked because he was actually the first person to do it. At one point, I even wondered whether I should keep the scene or remove it, fearing it might confuse the audience. But I wanted to recreate that nostalgic, feel-good moment in a fresh way. I wasn’t interested in repeating it the way it had been done earlier. I want Suriya sir to act, dance, sing, and deliver punch dialogues, but not in a predictable manner. So, we created new moments where he could do all of that,” he explained in a recent conversation.
Scheduled to release in theatres on May 14, Karuppu, features Trisha as the female lead, reuniting her with her Aaru (2005) co-star Suriya. The supporting cast includes Yogi Babu, acclaimed Malayalam actor Indrans, Sshivada, Lubber Pandhu fame Swasika, Natty, Supreeth Reddy, and Anagha Maya Ravi. The director is also playing a cameo role in the film.
The teaser for the film revealed that Suriya will play a lawyer called Saravanan, a nod to his original name. Released in July last year, it presented Suriya in a 'mass' avatar. Set in a rural backdrop, he is looked at as a saviour, an almost deity-like who delivers justice to commonfolk.
Besides Sai Abhyankkar as the composer, Cinematographer GK Vishnu, editor R Kalaivanan, production designer Arun Venjaramoodu, and stunt choreographers Anbariv and Vikram Mor, round out the crew of Karuppu.