With all the hustle and bustle over the Red Card issue surrounding STR, we had an exclusive chat over phone with dir Nandhu who has been associated with the actor in 2 movies - Vallavan and Kettavan. He is very candid and honest in his replies and this is an excerpt from our conversation with the director:

  • There is no point in blaming STR again and again for punctuality.
  • This is not the first time. So, directors should be aware of his work style before they commit him
  • It does not matter when he comes to set, when he is on work, he is fiercely on the job
  • Simbu is a Take Artist, he does the magic in one take
  • There may be others who are on time and be on set whole day but the movie will not run based on how much time the actor spents on the set. End result is the quality of acting
  • When MGR was on his peak, directors use to take other artists shot adjusting to MGR's position in the scene and then shoot MGR's portion. So, it is the director's inability today to plan their shots and there is no point in simply blaming the actor
  • By framing shots like those old MGR movies, given that the technical advancements today are huge, this will not be an issue and other actors also need not wait for Simbu
  • No matter what, no one take Simbu's market
  • 3 Producers have called me to start Kettavan again after the announcement of Red Card to STR so this will not affect his career
  • I am eagerly waiting to start work with Simbu again
  • This issue is being hyped about only because it is Simbu
  • Siddharth is also reportedly issued an Red Card, but nobody is talking about it

Finally, the director concludes that in the time of film making that we are living on, an actor coming late is a minor issue which can be easily managed if the team plans their shots accordingly. Now that everybody knows that STR comes to set only when he is mentally prepared for the shot, please plan your work accordingly when you commit him in your movie. Simbu is a dedicated artist and no one can take his market and this Red Card will not shake his confidence even at a minute level. He is confident that Simbu will swim through all this and come out successfully.

In short, dir Nandhu's comment on this issue - "STR a vachu yarukum vela vanga therila. Alazhaga plan panna avarkita work panrathu romba easy. STR is a Take artist and there is no second thought on it."