Kollywood comedian santhanam was missed

Chennai, Nov 14 : Director Rajesh M, who has worked with actor-comedian Santhanam in five of his back-to-back films, says he missed collaborating with him in forthcoming Tamil comedy "Kadavul Irukan Kumaru"."All of us, including G.V. Prakash and RJ Balaji missed him a lot. He s a very dear friend and when he expressed interest to graduate to hero roles after playing a comedian for over a decade, I respected his decision. Moreover, I felt he can t handle playing a hero and a comedian at the same time," Rajesh told.Santhanam, who is now busy as a hero with four projects, played a key role in three of the biggest hits in Rajesh s career.Asked if he has any plans of collaborating with hero Santhanam, he said: "He was ready to play the comedian s part in Kadavul Irukan Kumaru , but I felt he deserves to be treated as a hero, especially after creating a certain image. He has proved himself as a hero commercially, and I will definitely work with soon."Known for mostly playing the hero s friend in Rajesh s film so far, Santhanam s place has been filled by RJ Balaji in "Kadavul Irukan Kumaru".Rajesh, however, doesn t see Balaji as a replacement to Santhanam."Balaji was not roped in as a replacement to Santhanam. I really liked Balaji s role in Naanum Rowdy Dhaan , and I believe Kadavul Irukan Kumaru will take him to the next level," he said.Talking about the film, Rajesh clarified that it is not entirely a road movie."I was aware that if I make a full-length road film, I ll be limiting the audience base of my film. However, there s a road episode in the film and it features a spectacular chase sequence too. With Kadavul Irukan Kumaru , I believe I have tapped into a new commercial space. If it clicks, it will usher in a new kind of films," he explained.Composer-turned-actor G.V Prakash Kumar plays the lead in "Kadavul Irukan Kumaru", and Rajesh is all praise for the promising talent."His performance in Trisha Illana Nayanthara caught my attention and I decided to work with him. I was convinced he would be apt for my script and he also expressed interest to collaborate when I narrated it to him," he said.