‘What If We Go Back A Few Hundred Years?’

‘We
have
loved

Braveheart,
Lord
of
the
Rings,
Game
of
Thrones
and

Apocalypto.’
‘The
thought
was
‘When
are
we
going
to
do
such
films?’

He
always
wondered
when
Indian
cinema
will
make
movies
on
par
with
Hollywood
epics
like

Braveheart
and

The
Lord
of
the
Rings
and
Tamil
star
Suriya
says
he
got
an
opportunity
to
do
something
just
like
that
with
his
new
film

Kanguva.

Praising
director
Siva
for
his
vision,
the
National
Award
winner
said
the
upcoming
Tamil
movie
is
a
‘little
futuristic’
and
will
be
‘a
never-seen-before’
experience
for
the
audience.

Billed
as
a
‘mighty
valiant
saga’
which
spans
generations,

Kanguva
is
slated
to
be
released
on
November
14.
It
also
stars
Bobby
Deol
and
Disha
Patani
in
their
Tamil
cinema
debut.

“We
have
loved
films
(and
shows)
like

Braveheart,
Lord
of
the
Rings,
Game
of
Thrones
and

Apocalypto.
We
have
been
mesmerised
by
them
and
watched
them
multiple
times.
The
thought
was
‘When
are
we
going
to
do
such
films?’
Siva
came
up
with
this
idea
of
what
if
we
go
back
a
few
hundred
years?
What
would
happen
if
our
people
lived
such
life
and
had
a
complex
situation?
Let’s
picture
that
and
that’s
how
the
whole
thing
came
about,”
Suriya
said.

The
actor,
who
plays
the
title
role
in

Kanguva,
described
it
as
a
“screenplay-oriented
film”.

“Siva
is
amazing
with
green
matte
shots
(visual
effects).
He’s
very
talented
at
telling
a
story
visually.
He
would
love
theatrical
moments,
so
all
put
together
is

Kanguva,”
he
added.

This
is
Bobby
Deol’s
first
release
since
the
2023
hit

Animal,
which
earned
him
a
trophy
for
Best
Actor
in
a
negative
role
at
the
IIFA
Awards.
He
plays
the
antagonist
Udhiran
in

Kanguva.

“There
are
a
lot
of
characters
you
get
offered
who
are
antagonists
and
it
is
more
important
that
the
story
and
screenplay
are
interesting.
If
the
story
is
not
interesting,
you
can
play
the
antagonist
or
the
main
hero
of
the
film,
but
you
won’t
enjoy
it
because
it
doesn’t
give
you
anything
or
satisfies
you
as
an
actor,”
Bobby
said.

Bobby
was
excited
to
board
the
film
because
Suriya
was
‘the
main
guy’.

“I’ve
been
a
big
fan
of
Suriya.
I
never
knew
Siva
so
well
and
when
I
met
him,
he
promised
me,
‘Sir
when
you
come
on
the
set,
you’ll
be
really
happy’.
I’ve
never
been
so
happy
on
a
set.
Siva
is
like
a
teddy
bear
and
he’s
really
sweet.
You
see
a
lot
of
historical
films,
but
this
takes
you
into
a
different
world
together.
Making
something
like
this
is
a
big
task,”
Bobby
said.

The
actor
said
he
was
way
out
of
his
comfort
zone
as
he
was
unfamiliar
with
the
Tamil
language.

“It
is
so
difficult
when
you
don’t
know
the
language
and
you
have
to
perform
because
you
have
to
understand
what
you’re
trying
to
portray.
Siva
is
such
an
actor’s
director.
He
was
amazing
to
be
around
when
we
were
on
set.
He
guided
me
through
every
scene
I
did,”
he
added.

Disha
Patani
said
she
had
a
blast
working
on

Kanguva.

“The
first
time
I
met
Siva
sir
he
said,
‘I
just
want
to
see
my
actors
happy
on
set’.
I
was
very
stressed
about
the
lines
in
Tamil
and
I’m
not
very
great
with
learning
languages.
But
he
was
there,
holding
my
hand
and
taking
me
through
every
small
scene.

“Gnanavel
(producer)
sir
was
like
whatever
you
need,
we
were
like
family.
Suriya
sir
is
so
sweet,
to
see
him
act
in
front
of
me
every
day
was
extremely
inspiring.
His
process
is
like
he
snaps
in
and
out.
Bobby
sir
and
I
enjoyed
shooting
a
lot,”
she
said.

Mounted
on
an
estimated
budget
of
over
Rs
350
crore
(Rs
3.5
billion),

Kanguva
is
produced
by
K
E
Gnanavel
Raja,
V
Vamsi
Krishna
Reddy
and
Pramod
Uppalapati.
It
is
backed
by
UV
Creations
and
Studio
Green.

Gnanavel
Raja,
whose
credits
include

Thangalaan
and

Madras,
said
he
decides
the
budget
of
a
film
on
the
basis
of
his
trust
and
conviction
in
the
director.

“The
minute
we
finalised
the
script,
we
all
knew
this
(Kanguva)
was
going
to
be
a
little
expensive.
So
we
were
mentally
prepared
that
we
have
to
do
this
budget
for
the
film
to
justify
the
script.
The
script
demanded
the
budget,”
he
added.

Suriya,
whose
27-year
career
boasts
of
films
such
as

Kaakha
Kaakha,
Pithamagan
and

Ghajini,
said
going
forward
he
wants
to
take
up
more
challenging
projects
like

Kanguva.

“The
audiences
have
always
been
ahead
of
film-makers.
We
just
have
to
catch
up
with
them.
Everyone
can
have
their
own
space.
Anybody
who
wants
to
be
adventurous
will
be
welcomed
and
accepted.
So,
it’s
about
when
we
are
ready
and
how
far
we
push
ourselves.
It’s
been
27
years
for
me
and
we
want
to
push
boundaries
and
that’s
why

Kanguva,”
he
said.

Bobby
said
the
trend
of
pan-Indian
films
is
the
future.

“We
have
so
many
languages.
There
were
great
films
made
from
south
cinema,
Hindi
cinema
and
other
parts
of
our
country.
But
times
have
changed
and
the
world
has
become
smaller.
They
have
become
more
aware
of
what
kind
of
movies
are
made
in
India.
It’s
nice
to
see
it’s
no
longer
like
‘Hindi
film’
or
‘Tamil
film’.
It’s
become
pan-Indian
films.”