Anandraj on Karthi: 'No one could have done the Vaa Vaathiyaar character better than…'

With Karthi's Vaa Vaathiyaar lined up for release this Pongal, the film's pre-release event took place in Chennai on Tuesday. Speaking at the event, actor Anandraj said the film has turned out exactly the way director Nalan had envisioned it. “Nalan sir kept saying, ‘This is a festival film. Many families will come together to watch it,’ and that has happened just as he said. The film has become something families and friends can watch together, and that makes me very, very happy,” he said.

Addressing the delay in the film’s release, Anandraj admitted that it was initially disheartening. “Many people asked me about why the film got delayed. Even I felt a little upset then. But I strongly believe that if something good has to happen, there will always be a right time for it. If God makes us wait, there is always a bigger plan behind it,” he added, expressing happiness that everything has now fallen into place.

Thanking the team, Anandraj said, “My heartfelt thanks to Nalan sir and producer Gnanavel sir for including me in this film. I have personally seen how hard Nalan sir has worked for this project, and I am eagerly waiting to see his success.” Calling himself a huge fan of Karthi, he added that his admiration only grew after meeting the actor in person. “The character of Vaa Vaathiyaar may be larger than life, but no one could have done it better than Karthi. He is an excellent human being at heart, and that goodness naturally reflects in his character. Vaa Vaathiyaar is a character with a good heart, and that quality comes to him effortlessly,” he said, adding that he learnt a lot from working with the actor. Anandraj also praised Santhosh Narayanan, calling the composer’s music “a tremendous strength” for the film, and thanked all the artists who worked on it.

Vaa Vaathiyaar marks the first collaboration between Karthi and director Nalan, and also brings together the duo with Krithi Shetty, who plays the female lead. While Krithi has earlier appeared in the Tamil-Telugu bilingual The Warriorr, opposite Ram Pothineni and directed by Lingusamy, the upcoming film marks her proper Tamil debut. Billed as an action-comedy entertainer, the film also stars Rajkiran, Sathyaraj, Anandraj, Karunakaran, GM Sundar, Shilpa Manjunath, and Ramesh Thilak in pivotal roles.

Produced by KE Gnanavel Raja under the Studio Green banner, Vaa Vaathiyaar has cinematography by George C Williams, editing by Vetre Krishnan, music composed by Santhosh Narayanan, and production design by DRK Kiran. The film is set to open in theatres on Wednesday.