Blend in like Jiiva!

Director Sai Ramani might have cast Jiiva in dual roles in his Singam Puli, but the man says both the ‘Jiivas’ have equal weightage in the film.
Sai says Jiiva fit so well into the skin of the fisherman’s character that it was difficult for the unit to identify him in a crowd of fishermen. “We were shooting for a song in Kovalam and had to use several generators. The song takes place during a marriage reception and we had a gathering of 700 people there. But without warning, it started pouring and the generators stopped working. There was no electricity and we all rushed to take cover inside small huts nearby. That’s when one of the production team members started shouting at the top of his voice, ‘Where’s Jiiva?’ I was shocked by the fact that he had called Jiiva by his name and not as sir. But unmindful of all the shocked glances he was getting, he continued asking for Jiiva. After a few minutes, I realised Jiiva was standing next to me. He looked so convincing as a fisherman that I thought he was part of the crowd. Jiiva later went and hugged the production assistant and said, ‘You were the only one who was bothered about what happened to the actor.’
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