Chennai: “My character in Seethakaathi is a bundle of emotions of joy, sadness, fear and pathos,” says veteran actress Archana, who plays Ayya’s spouse and reflect the qualities of the most celebrated and artiste icon played by Vijay Sethupathi in his upcoming drama Seethakathi hitting the screens 20 December.Says Archana, “There’s always a specific thing about film protagonists being seen as upright and honest persons. While they might be seen dominating with their screen presence, what actually is to be noted are their spouses. They might not utter them but it can be sensed that they suffer in silence.”
“Yes, that’s an inevitable situation when your soulmate is someone who is not a materialistic man, but a Kalaignan (artiste),” says Archana with few seconds of silence followed by a smile.
She continues, “This isn’t something called sacrifice, but standing shoulder to shoulder with someone who life, heart and soul are filled for art – it is a responsibility. If at all, I am bounded to such emotions, it is all because of one man called Ayya.”
When asked about her co-star Vijay Sethupathi, she instantly says, “Yes, as I said, it’s Ayya and I am not able to separate him from Vijay Sethupathi. It is not just during the shoot, even when I see his pictures and visuals from the film, I can’t think of separating them. I am sure it is not just for me but everyone else in the team. It will be so for the audience as well.”
Archana is full of praise for filmmaker Balaji Tharaneetharan as she says, “I used to wonder throughout the shoot what really inspired him to take up such a unique theme. While the contemporary generation of filmmakers focus on routine patterns, his out-of-box thinking amazed me. Of course, he is the creator of Ayya and I believe that people will celebrate him for this.”
Seethakaathi is produced by Passion Studios, which will feature Vijay Sethupathi as a 75-year-old drama artiste. Scheduled for release next week, the film has music by the recent musical sensation, Govind Vasantha of 96 fame.