The 38-year-old actor's next movie is Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Jawan, which will be her first full-fledged Hindi project.
Published Dec 31, 2022 | 6:19 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 31, 2022 | 6:28 PM
Connect is backed by Nayanthara and her filmmaker husband Vignesh Shivan's Rowdy Pictures. (Rowdy Pictures/Twitter)
With the changing dynamics of the Indian film industry, South star Nayanthara believes now is the “right time” for artists to take bold decisions and present their content to a larger audience.
The 38-year-old actor, one of the biggest stars of the Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam film industries, is entering the Hindi market with the release of her latest Tamil horror movie Connect.
She will follow it up with Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Jawan, which will be her first full-fledged Hindi project.
“This change (in industry dynamics) has given confidence to everyone. It has motivated us to take bold decisions of releasing our films in other languages, where people are not so aware of the star or the director,” Nayanthara told PTI, in a virtual interview.
In the past two decades, the actor has established herself as the “Lady Superstar” of the South, but Bollywood was never her focus until recently.
The success of RRR, Pushpa, and the KGF franchise has created an opportunity for her to connect with the Hindi audience, who have mostly seen her in the dubbed version of popular hits Aadhavan, Chandramukhi, Tulasi, Arrambam and Sivaji.
“There is a right time for everything. It is just that I didn’t get the opportunity to do a full-fledged Hindi film or a proper dubbed Hindi film. Also, the situation was quite different earlier. Today, it has changed. We have to move according to the situation,” she added.
Nayanthara believes a content-rich film will strike a chord with audiences across the country and globe, irrespective of its language.
“We believe that if people watch a good film, they will be happy and will connect, whether it is in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada or Hindi. It will work everywhere if the content is good,” she said.
Witness the thrills in just two days – #ConnectFromDec22 in theatres. Here's a new promo! @VigneshShivn #Nayanthara @AnupamPKher #Sathyaraj #VinayRai @haniyanafisa @Ashwin_saravana @SonyMusicSouth pic.twitter.com/jXzH1MAsNX
— Rowdy Pictures (@Rowdy_Pictures) December 20, 2022
Connect, directed by Ashwin Saravanan of Maya and Game Over fame, has the right ingredients to entice the Hindi audience, she said.
“Connect is not about a region or a family in Tamil Nadu. It is not state-specific and I don’t think there should be a language barrier for this film,” the actor added.
Set during the lockdown in India, the film follows a single mother (played by Nayanthara) who starts noticing eerie changes in the behaviour of her daughter. The Tamil version was released on 22 December, while the Hindi version came out on Thursday.
The actor is delighted with the response to the film. “Connect is a theatre experience and the audience is loving the thrill of watching a horror film on the big screen.”
But with success comes responsibility and Nayanthara is well aware of maintaining the standards South cinema has set for itself. “We feel a sense of responsibility that we have to make a pretty decent film and not a stupid film.”
https://twitter.com/Ashwin_saravana/status/1605587885721124866
Connect marks her second collaboration with Saravanan after the 2015 horror feature Maya, which was Nayanthara’s 50th movie.
While both Maya and Connect may belong to the same genre, the actor noted that they are completely different in their treatment.
“Maya is a lot more twisted. But with Connect, I felt that the simplicity of the film itself is fresh,” she added.
In Connect, Nayanthara plays Susan Murugasan, whose world comes down during the pandemic after she loses her husband and is disturbed about her daughter getting possessed by a ghost.
The Netrikann star said that to essay any character, she relies on her director’s vision, besides her own process, which is more internal.
“It is not always about trying to replicate (someone). Sometimes, for some characters that have in-depth emotion, it is more of an internal process.”
Also starring Sathyaraj, Anupam Kher, Vinay Rai, and Haniya Nafisa, Connect is backed by Nayanthara and her filmmaker husband Vignesh Shivan‘s Rowdy Pictures.
Going forward, Nayanthara aims to continue making the most of the opportunities coming her way.
“I would try to do different films…We don’t know what works. It depends on what is being offered to you and I will make the best out of it. That is my responsibility,” the actor said.
(Disclaimer: Only the headline, subheads, and intro of this report along with the photos may have been reworked by South First. The rest of the content is from a syndicated feed)
