Guru Somasundaram Interview: A man of many shades

Guru Somasundaram operates in an interesting space that sets him a cut above a typical supporting actor. There is a notable air of curiosity around a project when he is announced to be a part of it. His next, Bell, a medical thriller, is set to hit the screens on June 9. “Bell is not your typical medical thriller where the antagonists are the medical mafia. In fact, it is not about corporate villains or organ trafficking. In the olden times, we had vaithiyaargal (healers) who held secrets about vaithiya muraigal (medicinal practices). Bell is centered around these traditional practices,” says Guru Somasundaram, who reveals that he plays one such vaithiyar with a grey shade to his character. “Bell employs a number of fantasy elements in the story, but you cannot call it a full-fledged fantasy story.”

Directed by R Vengat Bhuvan, Bell has an ensemble cast that includes Nithish Veera, Petter Raj, Jack Arunachalam, Kalki, and Durga. 

Guru was lauded for his portrayal of the primary antagonist in the critically acclaimed Malayalam superhero film Minnal Murali (2021). When asked if he likes playing darker characters, he chuckles in response before elaborating. “After Minnal Murali happened I naturally got offered a lot of negative characters but it’s not like I go after them consciously. I love playing a wide range of characters but if I get offered the role of an interesting antagonist then I would do that as well,” shares Guru, who attempts to dispel the notion of him leaning towards antagonist roles by reminding us of his upcoming project, in which he plays the lead role. 

Almost a year ago, it was announced that filmmaker Pa Ranjith will be producing his erstwhile assistant Dhinakaran Sivalingam's debut directorial, which stars Guru in the lead role. “It is an interesting story that stages a social drama through the ‘hero's journey’ of a common man. It portrays the struggles of a lower-middle-class wage worker and tries to speak about a very relevant social issue in the process,” says Guru, adding, “Our director Dhinakaran is a very good storyteller. The story is set around places in Chennai like Ambattur and Puzhal, and Dinakaran's familiarity with the setting handled in the story is an added advantage to the film."