“Kill a virus with a virus,” shouts Durai Singam, the upright policeman from the trailer of director Hari’s Singam 3 (Si3).
Tamil actor Suriya, complete with his handlebar moustache, is back and more ferocious as he tracks new criminals in the third instalment of the Singam franchise.
Director Hari returns with his 14th film. It’s been seven years since he introduced us to Singam, the honest cop from Thoothukudi.
“The sequel was planned,” he says, “But not the third part. I had another story for Suriya but the persistence of Durai Singam’s fans pushed me into exploring Singam further.”
Hari’s first challenge in today’s world, dominated by social media and technology, was to script a story that would keep the audience glued to screen.
“I had to ensure that they do not stray onto their mobile phones,” he says.
Ensuring a continuity to the life story of Singam was important. Many of the characters from part one have been developed to continue in the third part. Around 40 new characters have been added to the story.
With his team of 12 assistants, Hari brainstormed for around a year before the script was ready.
“I have deliberately placed a social message meant for today’s youth,” adds this father of three boys. There is an element of patriotism.
Hari is happy about his great working relationship with Suriya. It’s their fifth film together.
Singam and its sequel scored with its high-energy action scenes and the victory of Durai Singam over wrong doers.
Prakash Raj played the antagonist in part one, while British stage actor Danny Sapani was the bad guy in the sequel.
Hari now introduces television actor and Mr World Thakur Anoop Singh as the baddie in Si3.
“I was impressed with Anoop’s commitment to his role. He dubbed in Tamil too,” Hari said.
The supporting cast includes Anushka Shetty, Shruti Haasan, Radhika Sarath Kumar, Krish, Soori and Nithin Satya.
Si3 brings together composer Harris Jayaraj and Hari after 12 years. The duo wrote the lyrics for the song Wi Wi Wi Wifi.
Trotting around the world, Hari and team filmed in more than one hundred locations including in Malaysia, Romania, Georgia.
“This does not include song sequences. They were shot separately,” says Hari, who in his youth aspired to join the Indian Police force. Hari remembers being in awe of the khaki uniform. On appearing for the preliminary examinations, he realised that it was a tough nut to crack. With that, his police dreams crumbled.
Leaving behind the disappointment, Hari now talks about the happy moments that Singam has brought him — including when Indian cricketer MS Dhoni praised the film. The icing on the cake was the praise from police officers.
Asking if part four is brewing, Hari leaves it to fans to decide.
But before that, he will be making a sequel to Saamy, the Vikram film and his first police tale in 2003.
Si3, produced by K.E. Gnanavel Raja, releases in UAE on February 9. The Telugu version is titled Yamudu3.
