Donning khaki made Sivakarthikeyan emotional

Actor Sivakarthikeyan, who plays a policeman in his forthcoming Tamil action-drama "Kaaki Sattai", said wearing the khaki for the first time in his career made him emotional as it reminded him of his late father.

His father, who was a police officer in real life, passed away while on duty.

"My folks always wished to see me in khaki. When the film was initially offered to me, I should agree I was little sceptical. I couldn't accept the offer instantaneously and took my time to give the nod," Sivakarthikeyan told IANS.

"20 days into the film's shooting, I had to don the khaki. And that moment was very emotional and it really seemed like I was taking charge as a policeman. It brought back memories of my father and I wished he was there to see me play this role," he added.

Directed by R.S. Durai Senthil Kumar, "Kaaki Sattai" is produced by actor Dhanush.

Sivakarthikeyan, who has so far featured only in films that are high on comedy, never believed he could be an "action hero" but the response to the film's trailer has given him "lot of confidence".

"When we decided to do 'Kaaki Sattai', we tried to address two questions - whether this will be a satire on police story and as an action hero, how much of action I'm allowed to do because audiences have only seen me in comic roles. We tried to strike a balance and I think it has worked, going by the positive buzz the trailer has created," he said.

He also admits police roles undeniably offer the kind of stardom other roles don't.

"Unlike other roles, police characters provide respect to actors on screen. Right from the film's title to wearing the uniform, there's a sense of pride in playing a policeman," he said.

"Police roles also create a sense of curiosity among the audience. If I'm going to be seen as a cop, audiences are curious to know how have I looked and performed in the role. And when cop stories become successful, the actor who played the titular role is celebrated. Look what 'Kaakha Kaakha' did to Suriya and 'Saamy' to Vikram," he added.

For his role, Sivakarthikeyan lost about seven kg and worked hard on getting the basic police mannerisms right.

"I'm used to playing comic roles, but to suddenly play a policeman came with a lot of challenges. The challenges were as simple as standing erect and making eye contact," he said.

"This is the first time I've done action in my films and it was decided right in the beginning that it will be portrayed realistically. The most challenging part about doing action, especially as a cop, was delivering the required look. I struggled to carry the body language required for a policeman," he added.

The film, slated for a Feb 27 release, also features Sri Divya, Prabhu and Vidyullekha Raman in important roles.