Model-turned-actor Sajid Bubere, who is making his Tamil debut with Shankar's directorial film "I", says it's a big deal to be launched by the visionary filmmaker.
"Although I play a small role, I feel it's a big deal to be launched by Shankar, and be associated with one of the most anticipated Indian films of the year," Sajid told IANS.
"I'm a big fan of his work. I've loved his films such as Robot, Aparichit and Shivaji. But I didn't have a clue about aI' when I was approached for the role a year back," he added.
But Sajid signed the film "without any second thoughts".
"My manager told me Shankar wants to cast me in his film. I immediately auditioned for the role and was subsequently signed on," he said.
Even though the young actor was not willing to take up character roles, he didn't mind changing his mind for Shankar.
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About the working experience with the auteur, he said: "You'd never feel like working with one of the country's renowned directors. Shankar is very friendly and down to earth. I think to be groomed by Shankar is a blessing for any actor, and I consider myself lucky to be part of this project".
Sajid admits that he struggled to learn the language, but Shankar came to his rescue.
"He'd allow me to first deliver the dialogues in English. When I say my dialogues in English or Hindi, I understand what I'm saying and it automatically becomes easier to emote. Once he's content with the expressions, he'd then ask me to mouth the dialogues in Tamil," he added.
In the film, Sajid plays Amy Jackson's boyfriend. While he didn't get an opportunity to share screen space with Vikram, he got to work with Malayalam superstar Suresh Gopi, who essays an important role.
"I don't have any scenes with Vikram, but I did enjoy working with Suresh and Amy. I even feature in an action sequence," he said.