Sathyaraj has an illustrious career, comprising numerous memorable performances. While most of his best work has been in the Tamil industry, the actor became a household name internationally when he, well his character Kattappa killed Baahubali in Baahubali: The Beginning. Amid the score of brilliant movies in the last decade, Sathyaraj also signed the film Chennai Express.
He played Deepika Padukone’s father in the film, with his character Durgeshwara Azhagusundaram having a tint of negative shade. Recalling his work in the film, Sathyaraj confessed he felt his role wasn’t that great in the film. However, he did it anyway because of Shah Rukh Khan.
“When the makers approached me for ‘Chennai Express’, I heard the story and I felt that it was not that great a role for me. I conveyed this to the director (Rohit Shetty) and also to Shah Rukh Khan, but I eventually did the film, because I like Shah Rukh very much. I like SRK’s acting a lot. His films, like ‘DDLJ’ and several others, did extremely well,” he told ETimes in a recent interview.
Chennai Express was released in 2013. While Shah Rukh Khan played the lead and the producer, Deepika starred opposite him. Rohit helmed the film and it was one of the biggest hits that year. While Sathyaraj might have not had a great role in the film, it was a great year for him at the movies for he not only starred in one of Bollywood’s biggest movies of 2013 but also won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Tamil for Raja Rani.
Presently, Sathyaraj awaits the release of Veetla Vishesham. The RJ Balaji directorial is a remake of Badhaai Ho. The film is slated to release on June 17, 2022. Sathyaraj plays Gajraj Rao’s role in the Tamil remake while Balaji gets into the shoes of Ayushmann Khurrana.
