Suriya, who enjoys a great standing in the Telugu States, awaits the release of 'S3' on Feb 9th. High on a very good pre-release business of his Hari-directed movie, the actor says how this third edition is different from the previous ones, what makes Hari special, and more.

They love, respect 'S3':

Never before have such postponements happened. There were reasons we couldn't avoid. After 100 days of postponement, we are coming on Feb 9th. I can see the audience's eagerness. The only reason they are patient is because of their love for our film. I know it's not a festive release, but hardcore fans's support is still there.

A festive release always has a 15-20 pc extra market. But some of Karthi's movies and films like 'Yuganiki Okkadu', which got released in February, have done very well. It's content that matters.

I believed, so I spoke up:

It was an emotional moment (the pro-Jallikattu protests) in Tamil Nadu. It was not about just one cause. It was a built-up emotion which made people come out.

It's my face. I can't hide it. Whenever I come, it needn't be for publicity. It was just a co-incidence that my film was supposed to release. My family has roots in farming. My father's sister is still into farming. So, it was a genuine emotion. PETA people stand for what they profess. I have to speak for what I believe it. But it got a little dirty. In the reply to my legal notice, PETA said that I didn't speak for the sake of publicity.

Not unrealistic, but close to reality:

This morning I was speaking with CV Anand sir (the senior IPS officer of Additional DG cadre and former Cyberabad Commissioner), who joined duty at the age of 22. He has even received the President's award. He was also a force behind the Hussain Sagar policing. He has been watching our movies and he says that these things (what are shown in the movies) are possible. By law, you are not supposed to slap a person. But you still can get things under your control, there is a possibility for a person to connect with the Interpol, travel to another country and catch the accused. It happened in the case of the Krishi Bank Scam.

When it's a film, however, some tweaking happens to make it more palatable. All in all, 80 per cent of it is realistic. Only that those stunts don't take place in real life.

At one level, the 'Singam' movies are inspired by real-life cops. We do interact with cops. We know of cases which can't be shown in movies. They are shocking and larger-than-life. So, you can't categorize movies as realistic and commercial.

Inspiring trainee cops:

They are showing these films ('Singam' movies) in police academies. They are telling the trainees that they should work passionately, playing these movies. Some of the cops have told me that our movies are instrumental in giving police department a good image. Our movies have crossed borders, working well across five languages.

The flow is important:

We (Suriya and Hari) were initially not supposed to do 'S3'. But Hari sir came up with a nice idea and the film just fell in place.

After the 10th scene, you should not struggle to write the next scenes. It has to happen in a flow. It has happened with 'S3'. We have a new thing to say in the film. That the duty of a cop is limitless. He can do anything, be it for safety, rehabilitation, awareness, environment, etc.

'S3' is different from the previous editions:

In the first part, family emotions and other elements were balanced. My character was more emotionally attached to his parents, his father feels sorry that his son doesn't want to take up responsibilities in the city, etc. In the second part, my character is more stronger and having achieved a status, he knows what his responsibilities are. In the third part, it's again a balance between emotions and action, although the trailer may not suggest it. The trailer is a crowd-pulling exercise.

The mustache is common in the belt:

In the Tirunelvi belt of Tamil Nadu, ordinary people, not just politicians, sport this mush.

Hari, the meticulous hardworker:

Even after all these years, Hari hasn't got complacent. He keeps on working and even after a hectic day, he sits and writes till 11 in the night. You give him 45 more days after 10 months of writing, he will be happy and improvises on his writing. He never takes things for granted. He can manage all the crafts and command 300 people every single day. He knows all of them by name. Usually, even 50-80 cops can't control a crowd of 5000 people at the shooting spot, but Hari sir just needs a mic. His command is like that.

A camera department can take only about 30 good shots in a day, but Hari sir ensures that 90 shots are taken. It's because the dept will be that speed as they all know what he is going to ask them. We have shot 'S3' in 200 locations. To give you 14000 ft of footage, we shot 17 lakh ft of footage.

Harris Jayaraj for freshness:

We wanted to give a new experience make it feel fresh. DSP (Devi) had composed for the first two editions. DSP was large-hearted to let go of even though it was a tough decision for me.

Shruti Haasan is special:

I am aware she has lot of fans not only in Telugu and Tamil, but also beyond. She will definitely get more fan following after 'S3' because of the way she has performed and her characterization.

Training Jyothika:

Jyothika had earlier given a Harley Davidson shot for a movie. She knew it. I had to train her to ride Bullet on the Agra road. She picked it up pretty fast. It was fun. I sat behind her with confidence. She asked me, 'How were you confident we both won't fall?' Learning new things is always fun.

Miscellany:

I am ready to do a pre