Jayam Ravi's next big film, Siren, directed by debutant Antony Bhagyaraj and also starring National Award-winner Keerthy Suresh and leading Malayalam actress Anupama Parameswaran is all set for a big release on February 16. The leading Tamil actor recently sat down for a candid conversation with National Award-winning film critic Baradwaj Rangan, the Editor-in-Chief of Galatta Plus, to talk about Siren, while also opening on his experiences in acclaimed filmmaker Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan films alongside 'Chiyaan' Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Karthi, and Trisha Krishnan.
Jayam Ravi, who portrayed Arunmozhi Varman in Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan films, opened up on his screen time in the first installment released in 2022. Responding to whether he had any insecurities about a competition with the other lead stars in PS: 1, Jayam Ravi stated, "I don't know why, but I don't have any as such. I love positivity. I can't live around negativity at all and stay away from it. I believe that positivity is the only thing that's making me live. And, we all were on the film's sets like that. None of us had any insecurities because it is not a regular film. It's a film which the whole of the nation, at least the whole of Tamil Nadu was wishing to see come to the theatres. So, we too felt like the audience that this film is finally coming out. Even though I'm not there in the first half, what more can I ask than being the titular role of the film? That itself is a blessing and I was looking at it in that manner, and there was no room for any insecurities after that."
Jayam Ravi further explained, "I work for the film. I don't work for myself. Because if the film sells, I sell. If the film is a success, I'm a success. Otherwise, I'll be a pop star or something else. I'll be a YouTube star. For a feature film star, if the film works, it will decide whether you will remain or not. You can act as wonderfully as you can, but if the film isn't good, the people will not watch. In fact, to address the word 'insecurities', the bear witness is that I do not appear in any scenes in Comali that do not include Yogi Babu. I can create scenes. I can ask the director to create scenes for me. But, there was no such thing and in fact, I told that I'll wait for him and stayed put at my home for nearly two months because that scene will work only then. And, when the scene works out, the film will be good. If the film works out, I'll get work or else there is nothing."
Watch Jayam Ravi in conversation with Baradwaj Rangan in the video below: