Chennai is really vast, unlike Mumbai and Hyderabad: Surbhi

Actress Surbhi, who returned to Tamil cinema after a gap with Santhanam’s DD Returns, talks about her absence, working on her first horror comedy, and more. Excerpts:
You kind of went off the grid after Ivan Vera Madhiri and Velaiilla Pattadhari (VIP). What happened?
I did do Pugazh after VIP. I also acted in Adangathey, but that film is stuck in the cans.I got a break in the Telugu industry, so I continued doing films there, deciding to wait for a good project to return to Kollywood.
How did DD Returns come your way?
The makers were looking for an Indian actress with the look of a French girl, who would also be a fresh pair for Santhanam, and approached me last year. Director Prem Anand’s script was very different... a horror film with a game concept. I hadn’t acted in a horror film, and people also really enjoy the comedy element in them. So, I felt I should go give it a try.
Since the team had a lot of people who have been working with Santhanam for quite a few years, how did you fit in?
I could see that teamwork happening, because they have been working together for so long they knew each other’s pulse. So, everything was happening really fast on the set. It was very comfortable. This was also your first full-length comedy film. How was that experience?
All the comedians and Santhanam have very good comic timings, so I had to match up to them. That was a bit challenging. We used to have rehearsals as we all had scenes together. I enjoyed that and my director encouraged me. Santhanam also used to give inputs.
What does the success of the film mean to you?
For me, it’s like a great comeback back in Kollywood. And I really missed my audience here in Tamil Nadu because when I did my first film, Ivan vera Madhiri, they showered me with so much love. Wherever I would come to Chennai, they would call me Malathi, the character I played on screen. So, even after so many years, I received the same love, again, for DD Returns. I feel great. People have again welcomed me with so much love and so much appreciation, and it feels great to know that they still haven’t forgotten me.