In our Diwali edition interview series, we speak to actor Sudhanshu Pandey who made an entry into Tamil films by playing bad in Ajith starrer Billa 2. Sudhanshu has starred in Meagamann, 2.0 and Indrajith since then and a quick catch up with the Bollywood-import actor gives us a broader insight into him and his work.
Your feature in Indrajith posters look fierce..
Indrajith is typically an adventure thriller but at the same time, it is a complete masala film. I play a higher rank officer with the Archaelogical Survey of India, also known as the ASI. The reason I look fierce is because my character which is perceived to be negative has a completely different aspect to it as well. I'd wait for the audience to see if I play a villain or not.
Tell us about your experience of working with director Kalaprabhu
As you know Indrajith has been in making for about 3 to 4 years now. Kalaprabhu is an extremely passionate and talented person. I've literally witnessed him put all his might into even the smallest technical aspect of the film. Indrajith is his labour of love in every sense.
You self-dubbed for your role in Billa 2. How easy or difficult was it for you to get that language fluency?
When Chakri Toleti (director of Billa 2) came to me, he was particular that he wanted my voice for the role. Initially it was difficult to learn the dialogues but we did my portions (dubbing) within 6 hours and the sound engineer present at that time said I was 75 percent there (with language Tamil).
For 2.0, most of my dialogues were in Hindi. I have dubbed in my own voice for it but I am not too sure if Shankar is using my voice for the Tamil version of the film.
You were a part of the much raved about Television series 24 in Hindi. what do you prefer more - small screen in Hindi or the silver screen in Tamil?
Well I've also been a part of about 24 films in Hindi and my focus is predominantly on feature films, irrespective of the geography.
Very rarely something that is on the lines of Hollywood television and up your alley comes your way. 24 was that rare oppurtunity and I said why not !?
You've been a part of 4 Tamil films so far. Had this helped gain visibility in other southern industries?
As far as peronal experience goes, I've had offers from Kannada and Telugu but nothing had materialized as yet. But as I said before, geographical limitations are the least on anyone's mind in the industry these days.
Indrajith and 2.0 are both multi-linguals and I look forward to more people getting to see me and enjoy my work.
While the actor is already on a promotional spree for his immediate upcoming film Indrajith, his most awaited 2.0 will hit theatre screens in January next year. Movie Crow wishes his all the best and hopes to see more of him in all southern languages.
