‘I just froze’: Kayadu Lohar swapped seats on a flight—and ended up next to Rajinikanth

When she finally turned and realised it was Rajinikanth, she froze. “I just couldn’t hold myself. I was very conscious and nervous. I was like, oh my God, what did I do, I just sat on this seat,” she said. What followed was an entire flight of internal panic. “I acted like I was sleeping but I was not sleeping. The whole flight I was just like this.”

Also Read: Kayadu Lohar was ‘intimidated’ by Tovino Thomas on Pallichattambi: ‘This film will elevate my position as an actress’

Before landing, Kayadu Lohar did something she later called “a very stupid thing.” She called director Dragon director Ashwath Marimuthu, while still seated next to Rajinikanth. “I told him I’m sitting right next to Rajinikanth sir. What do I say? I’m so nervous. Should I tell him that I worked with you,” she narrated. The actress even asked him to stay on video call in case Rajinikanth did not believe her.

After landing, she gathered the courage to introduce herself. She told Rajinikanth she had worked with Ashwath Marimuthu in Dragon. “I don’t think he knows me but he said, ‘Oh, you look very different. You look pretty,’” she recalled.

On shooting with Suriya

Currently, Kayadu Lohar is shooting with Suriya. Talking about her experience working with the actor, she said, “I was so intimidated on the first day of shoot with Suriya. It’s been four days since we started to shoot and I’m still intimidated. So I’m just finding my way to be calm and just perform.”

Also Read: Suriya on Karthi’s journey from US to Paruthiveeran star: ‘He was the size of a rice sack’

Kayadu described the experience of acting opposite Suriya as a form of “healthy competition” that pushes her to raise her own game. “When Suriya is on screen, it’s very difficult to take your eyes off him. So I really want to match up to that. That’s the only thing I keep in my mind. I have to give my best shot so that it matches up,” she said.

On acting with Dulquer Salmaan

On the sets of her latest film I’m Game, Kayadu Lohar said what struck her most about Dulquer Salmaan was not his acting but his restraint as a producer. She said Dulquer, who produced the film under Wayfarer Films, deliberately stepped back from creative decisions and let director Nahas Hidhayath run the set without interference.

“He is also producing the film, so playing both parts on a film set is not easy. But what I saw was that he was very relaxed about it. He gave the space to the director. The director is the captain of the ship, and Dulquer does not try to intervene,” she said.

[embedded content]

Kayadu recounted a specific moment where Dulquer had a different idea about how a particular scene should be shot. “I asked him, ‘You are the producer of the film. You should say what you feel.’ to which he told me, ‘No, the director is very convinced and very firm about what he wants. I do not want to be that person who overrides him. If he is that sure and confident about it, I can keep the producer part and even the actor part on the side and just follow my director’s vision. That is what I signed up for,’” she recalled.

“A person like Dulquer, at the position he is in, to have that kind of mindset is not easy. That is what I took from him,” the actress added.

As an actor, Kayadu Lohar said Dulquer Salmaan’s ability to switch between registers instantly left her impressed. “He will be sitting there, completely relaxed, chilling, and then immediately there is a scene where he switches into a completely different person. That switch is really fascinating to watch,” she said.