Krithi Shetty, last seen in Malayalam in ARM, is currently gearing up for the release of two Tamil films: Vaa Vaathiyaar with Karthi and LIK with Pradeep Ranganathan. In a recent interview promoting the former, the Custody actor revealed that she has been a big fan of Karthi since his Paiyaa days.
Speaking to Behindwoods, Krithi recalled her childhood filled with innumerable rewatches of Karthi-Tamannaah's Paiyaa. "As I’ve said many times, I’m a huge fan of Karthi sir. I have lost count of how many times I’ve watched Paiyaa. When I was young, I used to visit my grandmother’s village in Bengaluru. I had no company and nothing else to do there. All I had was a CD of Paiyaa and a television, and I would keep watching the film on repeat. I did not fully understand the story at that age, but I absolutely loved the movie and the performances of Karthi sir and Tamannaah ma’am."
Krithi then went on to recall asking Lingusamy sir for a meetup with Karthi, which never materialised. "Later, when I worked with Lingusamy sir on The Warriorr, I requested him to help me meet Karthi sir, but it never happened. When we were shooting in Hyderabad, Karthi sir was there too for Ponniyin Selvan. I wanted to meet him so badly, but again it did not work out. I was extremely dejected. That was when Nadhiya ma’am called him and handed me the phone to cheer me up. This was many years before we began working on Vaa Vaathiyaar."
What she didn't expect after all these years was for Karthi to remember their conversation. "On the very first day of the Vaa Vaathiyaar shoot, Karthi sir asked me, “Do you remember when we spoke on the phone that day?” I could not believe he remembered a conversation from so many years ago. His humility truly amazed me. I was very nervous about meeting him on set, but his kindness only made me an even bigger fan," she narrated.
Helmed by Nalan Kumarasamy, the film also features Anandaraj, GM Sundar, and Shilpa Manjunath in pivotal roles. Produced by KE Gnanavel Raja of the Studio Green banner, Vaa Vaathiyaar's technical crew comprises cinematographer George C Williams, editor Vetre Krishnan, music composer Santhosh Narayanan, and art director DRK Kiran.
The film is slated for a release in theatres on December 12.
