When Karthika really begged in the market

By: Settu Shankar
Monday, August 06, 2007
Baala's Naan Kadavul is making the news for any small reason. Recently it was in the news for the director getting real beggars to fill the vacancy for the beggar's roles in the film. Now Karthika herself will be playing a beggar. To learn the mannerisms of a beggar, she closely observed the real beggars who were on the set for the shooting of the film.

Baal has always been one to portray a films character realistically. When he settles upon his final cast member, he never auditions them. Take for instance, Arya - the hero of Naan Kadavul. When he wad informed by director Baala that he wanted him to be a part of the project, he simply told him to get a sanyasi look with a long beard.

In the case of the heroine, the director wanted to give the role to Bhavan who refused it because she didn't have enough days on her call sheet. They he approached Malayalam heroine Parvathi who was dropped because the director felt that she did not fit the role that she was playing. He then zeroed in on Karthika, who was just two Tamil films old.

What Baala was going for when he chose her was her looks. He was convinced that she would fit the role of a blind woman beggar perfectly. He then simply called his make up man to do up Karthika's look so that she actually looks like a blind beggar. He then told his photographer to take the actress with her to the streets of Periyakulam. He instructed his photographer to accompany the actress and wandering in the streets of Periyakulam she begged.

After three hours of begging, they came back to the hotel and even then they were not recognized. They actually collected Rs. 47.50 in coins and a few sambar mixed packets. After passing the test, Baala congratulated her on a job well done and told her that she will turn out to be a great actress. Nice style Baala... Nijamave Athiruthilla