After playing the dreaded gangster Guna in Vetri Maaran's Vada Chennai, Samuthirakani is all set to reprise his role in the filmmaker's upcoming project Arasan, headlined by Silambarasan, which is described as "an untold tale" from the world of his acclaimed 2018 film. While the character earned Samuthirakani widespread acclaim and became a pop culture phenomenon through memes and videos, the actor-filmmaker has revealed that he still feels a sense of fear when he looks at his portrayal of Guna.
In an exclusive interview with Cinema Express, Samuthirakani said, "Even now, when I look at Guna, I am engulfed with fear. He is a completely different human. I have to take on the role again in Arasan. It is a psychology that one cannot comprehend. When we get into it, our face and behaviour changes entirely."
He further shared similar intense memories associated with another notable film Visaranai (2015), revealing that he had to sometimes wade through sewage waters for the role. "Visaranai affected me deeply. We'd be exhausted, laying flat on the roads after running through sewage waters. There will be snakes moving on the other side, but we'd barely have any energy to react. Although the shoot ended, the effects of it never wore off. I had a fever that lasted one whole month," he said.
Although he remained tight-lipped on further details regarding Arasan, Samuthirakani mentioned that he is yet to start shooting for his role. "The director called me a few days ago. If he has called, we need to be ready," he said. The film is currently in the second schedule of filming.
The cast of Arasan also includes Vijay Sethupathi and Heart Beat and Tourist Family-fame Yogalakshmi. Other notable names from the Vada Chennai cast who are set to feature in the film are Senthil (Kishore), Rajan (Ameer), and Chandra (Andrea Jeremiah). It is to be noted that Samuthirakani plays a member of Rajan's gang and Chandra's second husband.
Arasan's screenplay is an iteration of the one the filmmaker had written for Vada Chennai when Silambarasan was in line to star in it. However, Dhanush soon came on board for Vada Chennai. Kalaipuli S Thanu is producing the film under his V Creations banner while Anirudh is scoring the music.
Samuthirakani was last seen in the web series Thadayam and is now awaiting the release of Carmeni Selvam, which also stars Gautham Vasudev Menon, Abhinaya and Lakshmipriyaa Chandramouli in lead roles. It is set for release in theatres on April 3.
