Here's what Sonu Sood's next two South films are about

Sonu Sood will next be seen in a Tamil and a Telugu film. In Trivikram Srinivas’s untitled Telugu film, he’ll essay a suave, ruthless, unscrupulous business tycoon, while S Bharathi’s untitled Tamil film will have him playing the leader of a militant group hiding in the forests of Madurai.

Role call

The Telugu film’s character sees him in a villain’s role yet again. Says Sonu, “It will be my third film with Trivikram; we’ve done Athadu and Julai before. In Julai, too, I played the villain.” But the Tamil film sees his character betraying complex shades. He says, “It’s all about survival of the fittest in a raw, and challenging landscape. The whole film will be shot in forests and we will camp out there. You can only shoot in May when water is available. It’s extremely hot, but I am looking forward to the shoot. It’s a challenge, but I love roughing it out. The story is more about people struggling to get their rights, surviving among the mud, heat and mosquitoes. I shot my first movie Kallazhagar in Madurai and with Bharathi’s film, I want to re-visit my memories,” he says.

Giving back to the South

For a Punjabi, he’s quite fluent with South languages. “I learn it from my friends as I ask them to talk to me all the time. I have done almost 40 movies in Tamil and Telugu and I switch easily from one language to another. I thoroughly enjoy the process as it keeps me on my toes. I remember a celebrity once telling me, ‘I think Sonu is from the South because he speaks the languages so fluently. Doing films in the South is also my way of giving back to them. I plan to do at least one South film a year.”