Tamil star Suriya's big Diwali release Scene will hit screens on November 6 and audiences are excited not just to see him in a new avatar but also to see Malayalam director Jithu Madhavan make his debut in Tamil.
The filmmaker, who is known for his dark humour, has roped in Nazriya Nizam and Naslen for Scene. While Nazriya is returning to Tamil cinema after 12 years with Scene, this movie marks the debut of 26-year-old Naslen in Kollywood. In an exclusive chat with NDTV, Jithu Madhavan tells us why he roped in the Premalu hero for his Tamil film.
Naslen made his acting debut in 2019 with Girish AD's Thanneer Mathan Dinangal and, in just six years, has featured in over 18 films. However, it was the 2024 romantic comedy Premalu, also directed by Girish AD, that catapulted the young actor to fame across South India.
His charming smile and boyish looks endeared him to audiences, particularly younger viewers, making him one of Malayalam cinema's most popular and familiar young faces. Now, with Jithu Madhavan's Scene, starring Suriya, Naslen is set to explore a different side of his acting abilities. "I had always wanted to work with Naslen. I had watched his films and I didn't want to present him in the same way audiences had seen him before. I felt this role in Scene would ask him to do something different. When we met and spoke, he was happy with that idea too," stated the Aavesham director.
As can be seen from the trailer of the Suriya film, the 26-year-old plays the antagonist and choosing a young man to play the 'villain' against a big star is quite avant-garde. This is perhaps one of the few times in Tamil cinema that a relatively young and newer actor takes on a formidable superstar like Suriya as the antagonist on screen. The filmmaker prefers not to reveal too much about this choice except to say, "The story demanded that kind of character at that age. The casting was driven by what the story needed and not by the age per se."
However, Naslen is set to knock your socks off in Scene, is Jithu Madhavan's opinion. "Believe me when I say this, Naslen is an exceptional and exceptionally intelligent artist. He is very talented, and people have only just begun to explore what he can do. I believe audiences will see performances from him in the future that they haven't seen before, and his talent will reach beyond Kerala and South India," he stresses.
Scene is set to release on November 6 and is produced by Suriya and Jyothika. With music by Sushin Shyam, the film marks Jithu Madhavan's Tamil debut and promises to present Suriya in a new, never-seen-before avatar, with Naslen playing the antagonist.
