Wednesday May 21 2008, Chennai

Luck smiles at debutante Rithick

Newcomer Rithick, who will be debuting in Tamil film with ‘Maanavan Ninaithal’, could just be ideal for romantic-cum-action hero roles.  His debut could cause as much sensation as ‘Jeyam’ Ravi managed to create among college-going girls with his ‘Jeyam’.  Rithick has for company the veteran director-actor K.Bhagyaraj in his debut film, which can only help him fine-tune whatever flaws he might have as far as acting is concerned.Varshini a.

k.a.Aadhira, who has appeared in small roles in some films, will be playing the heroine opposite Rithick in the film.We caught up with Rithick for a chat on the sidelines of the shooting of ‘Maanavan Ninaithal’.: What’s Rithick’s background? I have absolutely no filmi background.

Though I’m a Malayalee by birth, I was brought up in Chennai and had my schooling and college education here.  I was selected for ‘Maanavan Ninaithal’ while I’m still in college.How about acting along side the legendary K.Bhagyaraj? At first, I was a little apprehensive of sharing screen space with Bhagyaraj Sir, given his stature and experience.  But, to my surprise, Bhagyaraj Sir came across as a very nice gentleman and treated me almost like his friend, not a co-star.

Your thoughts on your heroine Aadhiraa...Well, Aadhira, has done some films earlier, and is definitely better-prepared than I to face the camera.  Despite my effort, I couldn’t remain casual in romantic sequences.

Any intimate scenes with her...? No, not at all!  We both play classmates in a college in the film.Yes, there was a couple of lip-to-lip kissing scenes between us, which I now hear, have been deleted from the movie (Damn! what a disappointment!).

  In general, we shared good rapport and I enjoyed working with her.How’s ‘Maanavan Ninaithal’ shaping up? Quite nicely.At this moment, I can’t reveal more than this.  But I would like to unveil a secret to you: even before the release of my first film, I have signed a couple of projects, namely, ‘Kaadhal Osai’ and ‘Veeran Maaran’.  I feel I have been very lucky in this regard.

  All I’m hoping for and praying is that ‘Maanavan Ninaithal’ should do well at the box-office and I would need blessing from people like