'Nanayam will be another landmark in my career'

Son of veteran Tamil actor Sathyaraj, Sibiraj made his debut in 2002 in Student Number 1, but tasted success with Lee in 2007.

His career now takes an interesting turn, as he turns villain in Nanayam, a Tamil action thriller starring Prasanna. The film is produced by S P B Charan and directed by Shakti.

Sibiraj talks to Shobha Warrier about the film, which releases on Christmas Das.

Why did you accept Nanayam? Was it because of your friend Prasanna, the script or the character?

All of them! After my last release Lee, I wanted to do a negative role.

Why villain?

Because I have done six movies as a hero and I felt that if I do a role with negative shades, it will tap into my talent. I am trying to explore new avenues. Kamal Sir (Haasan) acted as a hero as well as villain in films like Sigappu Rojakkal. It was a huge hit and gave him a good name.

Among my contemporaries, Simbu did Manmadha, Prasanna did Anjathey and Dhanush did Kadhal Kondein. And those movies got them a good name. So I decided to change my profile too.

After Lee, I didn't accept any film even though it was a hit. I was waiting for the right script with a negative role. Luckily, I got Nanayam.

Did Prasanna tell you about Nanayam?

Yes. The story was narrated to Prasanna and it was he who said it would be good if I did a negative role in it. We are close friends. He told me there was a good villain character that I might be interested in. He said there was a lot of scope for performance. So I agreed.

Then director Shakthi narrated the script to me. It was a new genre and I felt this kind of a film was not made in Tamil before. The film is about a bank robbery. My character is as good as the hero.

How different is acting as a villain from acting as a hero?

It was quite easy. My inspiration was John Travolta. I always wanted to act as a negative person. Maybe there is a bad person inside me! (laughs)

This is not a crude villain. People won't hate me like they hate villains. I'm a loveable villain like Prakash Raj in Gilli. Even Hrithik Roshan played a bad guy in Dhoom 2.

There is a murder in the film but it is not gory.

Was working with your friend competitive?

It was very competitive and enjoyable.  It was like two classmates running the same race. Each one hopes to be a winner.

In real life, we are very close friends to each other. We call each other vaada macha, poda macha but in the movie, we are against each other. It was quite interesting. Once the camera started rolling, we were at each other's throat. Once the director said cut, we are back to being friends.

Tell us something about your character.

I play Fareed, the person who blackmails Prasanna. I would say this villain is a cool character. Unlike the villains of regular masala movies, he will not raise his voice or get angry quickly.

I also have two songs in a club and a folk number though I don't have a heroine in the film.

Did you miss being a part of the film when the shoot was over?

Frankly, yes. We had so much fun doing Nanayam that I miss Prasanna on the sets now. I used to call and tell him, Macha, I miss you! In films like Nanayam, you don't have to go overboard while performing.

Now I am doing a film called Chandu Pottu as hero.

What are your expectations from Nanayam?

It will be another landmark film in my career like Lee. After Lee, people said that I could perform. Nanayam will be a step or two ahead.

Do you seek your father's advice while accepting a film or portraying a character?

If I like a script, I ask my dad for a second opinion.