Working on Udanpirappe made Jyotika realise that it could be “beautiful” to play a character slightly older than herself, the actor told Silverscreen India during a roundtable interview organised by Amazon Prime Video on Monday as part of the film’s promotions.
Jyotika’s 50th film, Udanpirappe is set to premiere on the streaming platform on Thursday (October 14). The film also stars actor-directors Sasikumar and Samuthirakani in the lead alongside her. Produced by actor Suriya’s 2D Entertainment banner, the film is written and directed by filmmaker Era Saravanan.
During the round table interview on Monday, when Silverscreen India asked Jyotika about her learning experience while working on Udanpirappe, the actor said, “Playing this character [Mathangi] was new to me in several ways. I learnt the importance of silence with this role because I have typically played a talkative person in most other films that I have done. Also, when everyone is in the rat race to look younger, I realised it could be beautiful to play an older character, which was an absolutely new experience to me.”
Jyotika also shared that to play Mathangi, she took inspiration from her mother-in-law at home and all the women she knew. “The film is an absolute family entertainer that revolves around the bond between a brother and sister. It also evokes a certain type of cinema that we have not seen in the last 15 years. There are a lot of good things in this film, which has deep-rooted family values,” she added.
Earlier, during the trailer launch of Udanpirappe, Jyotika had said that Mathangi is the most dignified character she has played yet.
According to the official synopsis, Udanpirappe will showcase the unconditional love between siblings Mathangi (Jyotika) and Vairavan (Sasikumar), who are separated due to differences of opinion. While Vairavan believes justice must be fought for, Mathangi’s husband Sargunam (Samuthirakanni) insists on going by the law diligently. Over the years, the rift between them is aggravated and all attempts by Mathangi to unite the family turn futile. Whether Mathangi can unite her family forms the crux of this emotional family drama, which the director had earlier told Silverscreen India will shine a light on familial relationships, particularly estranged ones.
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Jyotika mentioned in Monday’s roundtable interview that it was because of Amazon Prime Video that she got a festival release for her film. “This is my 50th film and in my 20-year career, this is the first time my film is having a festival release (the film is arriving in time for Dussehra). Usually, these festive season slots are booked for hero-centric films. So I am happy that Udanpirappe, a so-called women-centric film, is being released to entertain families during the festival of the goddesses.”
The actor noted that she wants to continue working on films which women can feel good about watching. “I want women to feel that they are watching a part of themselves on screen and would like to do films that families can watch together.”
Udanpirappe, which was shot over 56 days in Thanjavur and Pudukkottai by cinematographer Velraj, will also be released in Telugu as Raktha Sambandham. The film has music by D Imman, while Ruben has handled the edits.