Sri: But, I thought you also did a role as Vijay's friend's role in
Khushi.
Shaam: Yes, I did, but I was already doing the film
12 B then.
Sri: How was it working with Jyothika and Simran in your debut movie? They both were hot stars at that time!
Shaam: They both were very professional and very nice to me. Actually, I am still in touch with Jyo(thika) even after marriage. She is a real sweet and so is Surya. They are a very good couple...
Sri: Sunil Shetty also worked for that movie. How was it to work with him ?
Shaam: Sunil is a really sweet person. He gave really valuable tips and helped me a lot in the movie.
Sri: Are you still in touch with him?
Shaam: Yes, whenever I go to Mumbai, I call him and we talk.
Sri: So, is it a Bangalorean friendship? I think he's from around there too, right?
Shaam: (Laughs) No, he's from Mangalore, but both of us came from model background.
Sri: You did a lot of chocolate boy kind of roles in films, starting from
12 B, and in films films like
Hey, Nee Romba Azhaga Irukke! (with Sneha) or
Anbey Anbey (with Sharmilee) or
Lisa Lisa (with Trisha and Madhavan) some were dubbed in Telugu too. But how come you never made it big?
Shaam: That's because south Indian audience regard heroes more when they do action-oriented roles. Even though they appreciate love stories, hero worship is only for the macho image and not the chocolate boy type. I even worked a film called
Iyarkai, directed by debutant S.P. Jananathan and the film went on to win the national award in 2003, but the film suffered a delayed release due to financial problems and didn't make it big at the box-office, thus making all our hardships going unnoticed. Though I got a couple of offers from Telugu earlier too, they were never materialized due to various reasons.
Sri: So, how did
Kick happen?
Shaam: One day Surender Reddy called me and said he got a good role of a cop in a Telugu film. I said he might have mistaken as most of the films I did were all lover boy image films, and that I never played a cop or something like it. He simply said that people don't know that they can use an artiste in different dimensions and that I can look different with a moustache and that I'd be apt for the role. It worked out!
