Exclusive! Smita Patil and Manju Warrier were the two artistes that I wished to work with: Santosh Sivan

Over the past few decades, there have been several artistes and filmmakers who have strived to get a chance to work with ace cinematographer and director Santosh Sivan. However, Santosh in an exclusive interview with OTTplay revealed that he has wished to work with two great talents in his career – one of whom he could collaborate with on his upcoming Malayalam-Tamil bilingual Jack N’ Jill.

“There are two people that I wished I could shoot with – one was Smita Patil, whom I couldn’t collaborate with,” Santosh tells us. “The other person I have always wanted to work with was Manju Warrier. When she started acting again, I wanted to do something that showcased all her talent. That’s how I cast her in this film.”

The actress had taken a break from acting in 1999 after her wedding, but made her comeback in 2014 with How Old Are You? With films in Tamil, Malayalam and also a Hindi debut in the works, Manju is one of the most sought-after talents in the South.

On working with her in Jack N’ Jill, the director says, “She is a versatile, passionate artiste who is eager to work and easy to work with.” Santosh also lauds her for her performance in the film, which also has Soubin Shahir, Kalidas Jayaram and Basil Joseph in pivotal roles.

“Manju is ready to put in the hard yards,” he says. “I wanted her to do action with the grace of a dancer in the film. She rehearsed it multiple times. So, whatever you see on the screen is not something that she did spontaneously. She has put in that kind of effort.”

Jack N’ Jill, which will be released in Tamil as Centimeter, is set to hit theatres on May 20 worldwide.

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