Exclusive! Kathir: I love the fact that I played a cop who has multiple layers in Suzhal - The Vortex

Actor Kathir, who played one of the lead roles in Amazon Prime Video's Suzhal - The Vortex, is elated with the positive response the series has been receiving from day one. Moreover, he is thrilled about his character garnering appreciation from critics and film lovers. 

In an exclusive chat with OTTplay, the young actor talks about landing the role in Suzhal, collaborating with multiple filmmakers, working with talented co-stars and influx of messages he has been accepting on social media from various quarters. 

How are you enjoying the stupendous success of the series?

It took a few days for me to come to terms with the fact that Suzhal has become a gargantuan hit among the audience. I have been eagerly waiting to know about their response since the time we completed its shooting. It is really heartening to see people appreciating varied aspects of screenplay, performances and filmmaking. The love we have been receiving is overwhelming. 

What was your immediate thought when you were approached to play the role of a cop?

I was intrigued when I was told that I have to play a cop in the series. The character has multiple layers which I really loved. He's a generous person who is under the impression that he knows almost everyone in his town. But it is only when he is assigned a sensational case does he realize that his knowledge about the town and people there is quite limited. 

What were the different challenges you felt while portraying a character which has multiple shades to it?

From the very beginning, I understood that this is a character which I have never played before. My primary challenge was to maintain the emotional variation the role undergoes as and when he comes across startling revelations. Moreover, shooting amid two waves of the pandemic was strenuous in every way. Sometimes, being on set wearing make-up for a long time used to be painful. Shooting in different terrains was also a bit tough.

What were your creative inputs in terms of developing your character?

I discussed a lot about my role with directors Bramma and Anucharan. Their instruction to me was to perform based on what I feel is right. And I completely followed it. They would rectify whenever they felt something was not right. The interesting part of working in Suzhal was that even the smallest character completely believed in the script and was keen on giving their best during shooting. Cinematographer Mukesh deserves credit for the wonderful visuals and inducing motivation in us.  

Unlike films which have a duration of around 150 minutes, a series like Suzhal has a runtime of more than 40 minutes each for eight episodes. What was the major difference you felt while working in long-format storytelling?

I didn't find much difference because of the change in format, except for the fact that comparatively more dates were allotted for shooting.   

For feature films, we gauge the response based on the first day first show report of the audience. How different was it for a web series?

Suzhal was supposed to drop on Amazon Prime Video at 12 am in the morning, but it got released a little earlier. It was more or less like a regular FDFS for us. I was surprised to see that people started commenting their opinion on each episode separately from midnight itself. Social media was flooded with responses in no time and our excitement was incomprehensible.